Class 3 1 ^0 

Book. - ETgH/a 

COPYRIGHT DEPGSfE 



1 



A 



A 



r 



THE EVANGELISM 
OF JESUS 



SIX STUDIES IN THE PERSONAL 
EVANGELISM OF OUR LORD 

For Bible Students and Study Classes 



ERNEST CLYDE WAREING 

Editor Western Christian Advocate 




THE ABINGDON PRESS 
NEW YORK CINCINNATI 



"3 1 



Copyright, 1918, by 
ERNEST CLYDE WAREING 



AUG 17 I8J8 



ICI.A501481 



To My Mother 

WHO TAUGHT ME AT HER KNEE 
THE STORIES OP OUR LORD AND 
HIS EARLY DISCIPLES. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

Preface 7 

I. For the Devout Soul n 

The Mystical Type 14 

The Spiritual Approach 15 

Differential Evangelism 16 

The Conversion of Nathanael 17 

Questions for Class Study 26 

II. For an Inquiring Soul , . 29 

The Formal Type 31 

The Intellectual Approach 32 

Essential Evangelism 33 

The Conversion of Nicodemus 34 

Questions for Class Study 45 

[II. For the Sinful Soul 49 

The Defective Type 53 

The Moral Approach 54 

Initial Evangelism 54 

The Conversion of the Woman of Samaria 56 

Questions for Class Study 65 

IV. For the Importunate Soul 69 

The Afflicted Type 71 

The Physical Approach 72 

Collective Evangelism 73 

The Conversion of Blind Bartimseus 74 

Questions for Class Study 83 

V. For the Distressed Soul 87 

The Radical Type 91 

The Sympathetic Approach 92 

The Evangelism of the Cross 93 

The Repentant Malefactor 95 

Questions for Class Study 10 1 



6 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

VI. For the Violent Soul 105 

The Fanatical Type 108 

The Concealed Approach 109 

Elemental Evangelism no 

The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus in 

Questions for Class Study.. 119 

Bibliography 121 



PREFACE 



This little volume is intended for the use of earnest people 
who desire to acquaint themselves with the evangelistic 
teaching of our Lord. It is neither a scholarly study nor an 
exhaustive treatment of the subject. It may claim to be a 
popular presentation of the fundamental truths which form the 
basis of the work of making Christian disciples. It does 
not deal with the application of practical methods. These 
are left to those more familiar with them through experience 
in the active field of evangelism. It seeks to discuss and 
elucidate the evangelism of Jesus from the viewpoint of ex- 
perience. It asks the questions, How did Jesus approach men ? 
Did he always use the same means of presenting truth? What 
was his goal in dealing with the souls of men? As a 
spiritual leader, in what respect was he different from other 
religious teachers? What is the distinctive fact in Christian 
salvation? It seeks to discover the effects of the influence of 
Jesus upon the souls of those with whom he had to deal. In 
this, it avows, is revealed the revelation of God's power to 
transform men and manifest himself to them in a new way, 
producing what is known as the Christian conception of God. 
In each instance of the personal evangelism of Jesus there is 
a manifestation not only of duty but of the spiritual capacity 
of the human soul, which brings a revaluation of both the 
divine and human spirit to every generation of men. 

The evangelism of Jesus was always that of personal con- 
tact. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus seems to be an ex- 
ception. However, the contrary is true. It resulted in his 
finding the invisible and glorified Christ, and in revealing 
the evangelism of the Holy Spirit who functions against 
opposing forces as the wind gathers strength when confined 
by towering walls. Many of the fundamental questions of 
religious experience appear for discussion in these studies. 
They will receive answers, it is hoped, that will not only 
satisfy the mind but lend enthusiasm to follow Jesus in his 
interest in the souls of men as they grope in the darkness, 



7 



8 



PREFACE 



feeling their way toward God and the living of a righteous 
life. With a prayer that they may be an inspiration to many, 
these studies are submitted to those who love him who 
has bought us with his own precious blood, and taught us 
the way of life through the ministry of his Holy Spirit. 



The prominence of the doctrine of the Trinity at any given 
time will depend upon the thought of the time. It is not 
likely to be at the front when the living controversies of the 
age relate to theism itself. In defending the reality of God 
against materialism and agnosticism few will discuss the inner 
mode of his existence; it is enough to maintain his per- 
sonality, his character, and his relation to the universe. But 
this does not disprove the truth and value of the doctrine. 
It may even be vital in the life and thought of a period when 
it is not prominent in discussion. At the present day there is 
less defense and less proclamation of the Trinity than at many 
other times, but the doctrine itself is more vital than in many 
periods when it was more thoroughly elaborated and defended. 
—W. N. Clark. 



... 



CHAPTER I 



For the Devout Soul 

The Mystical Type 
The Spiritual Approach 
Differential Evangelism 
The Conversion of Nathanael 

Scripture: John i. 43-51 

The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and 
fmdeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. 

Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 

Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have 
found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did 
write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 

And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing 
come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, 
Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile ! 

Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? 
Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called 
thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 

Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art 
the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. 

Jesus answered and said unto him. Because I said unto thee, 
I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? Thou shalt 
see greater things than these. 

And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, 
Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God 
ascending and descending upon the Son of man. 

Prayer 

We pray, O Lord, for guidance as we pursue this study of 
thy methods in dealing with the souls of men. Thou canst 

11 



12 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



make real thy world of spirit and quicken our perception of 
it. We want to know more about thee. When we think of 
thy kindness and thy tender mercy toward us our hearts are 
strangely warmed. What can we do to please thee but to open 
them for thy presence? Reveal to us the secret of communion 
with God our heavenly Father. Teach us how to trust and 
exercise our spiritual powers. Save us from being sense- 
bound, and from living under a starless sky, from the com- 
pulsion of walking in darkness when thou didst come to show 
us the way of light. Our hearts yearn for thee to teach us the 
difference thou canst make in a life of faith. When we go 
apart for prayer give us great quiet. Help us to shut out the 
world with all its restlessness. Help us as we linger to 
think only of thee, to release our emotions and feel only for 
thee. Train our spirits to hear thy voice, to attend unto thy 
will, and to trust thee as always loving us, regardless of our ir- 
responsiveness, and even our sin. What more could we ask 
of thee, when thou hast provided for us with such bountiful- 
nessf We feel that we must grow from more to more. Wilt 
thou then give us enlargement of spirit, quickness of per- 
ception, and assurance of thy protection. 

We have ever sought the way of devout souls. We come 
to study it as those who search for hidden riches. We have 
found it in our anticipations filled with an endless interest 
that deepens with the years. We have sought to enjoy its 
blessing. It has brought to us prophecy of a masterful life, 
the exhilaration of experiences that have grown eloquent in 
their appreciation of thy wise provision for all who love thee. 
It has brought us days when doctrine supported our life, 
and faith directed our course, and confession lightened our 
burden. We pray that our path may always lead upward 
from the world of the profane and the godless. For there 
are levels of life where faith suffers and despair plays havoc 
with the soul. Teach us the difference Christ can make in 
our lives. Help us to realize his power of enrichment and to 
see the beauty and grace he bestows upon those who hunger 
and thirst after righteousness. Bring us to the daily confes- 
sion of him as our Lord and our God. Amen. 

Introduction 

The evangelistic methods of our Lord were always deter- 



FOR THE DEVOUT SOUL 



13 



mined by the character of the one with whom he had to deal. 
He had no systematized plan of approach. No religious 
formula or established precedent was followed by him. 
Every man presented a different problem and required a 
distinct line of treatment. His evangelism, therefore, can- 
not be reduced to hard-and-fast rules. No man by merely 
studying his teachings and following his dealings with men can 
deduce a list of fundamental principles to serve as a guidebook 
for his evangelism. In all his sayings there is but one sentence 
that may be received as indispensable, with universal applica- 
tion as an evangelistic principle : "I am the way, the truth, 
and the lif e : no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." 
These words carry an elemental truth. No matter what 
methods may be required to deal with any specific case, this 
one thing is strictly fundamental, the evangelism of Jesus 
begins with Christ — "No man cometh unto the Father but 
by me." Apart from this claim as the initiatory step, no 
extended uniformity can be traced in the Master's dealing 
with men under the evangelistic impulse. However, there 
are many varieties of men. No two of them, it is claimed, 
are alike. Upon close analysis, however, they readily classify 
themselves under various types. In this field we find the ma- 
terial for the study of the evangelism of Jesus. There are 
always individuals who possess characteristics peculiar to a 
group. They are said to be typical members of that group. 
Whatever may be said of them as individuals, may also be said 
of the group. Any method successfully used in dealing with 
them may be reasonably expected to apply to others of their 
kind. 

We find in searching the teachings and life of Jesus six dif- 
ferent incidents in which he deals with as many different 
types, illustrating the methods of his evangelism. The con- 
version of Nathanael presents the mystical type, illustrating 
the methods of differential evangelism by the way of a spirit- 
ual approach for the devout soul. The conversion of the 
woman of Samaria presents the defective type, illustrating 
the methods of initial evangelism by the way of a moral 
approach for the sinful soul. The conversion of blind 
Bartimseus presents the afflicted type, illustrating the methods 
of collective evangelism by the way of a physical approach 
for the importunate soul. The conversion of the thief on 
the cross presents a radical type, illustrating the methods of 



THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



the evangelism of the cross by the way of a sympathetic 
approach for a distressed soul. The conversion of Saul of 
Tarsus presents a fanatical type, illustrating elemental evan- 
gelism by the way of a concealed approach for a violent soul. 

The Mystical Type 

The character of Nathanael illustrates an intense spiritual 
nature, known as the mystical type. It has a way of perceiv- 
ing God that makes him most real. It has also more than 
ordinary power to open the receptive functions of the soul 
for spiritual impulses. This results in inward illumination and , 
poise, bringing marvelous and almost irresistible influence over 
the impulses that control the body in which the spirit of man 
dwells. It presents a frequent demonstration that man is a soul, 
that he is not a prisoner in his brain dome with no avenues 
outward but those of the five physical senses. The mystic is 
an individual in whom the intuitions are especially free and 
active. He early learns how to shut out the world in the 
hour of meditation and prayer ; how to rest the body, quiet 
it into a passive state, and to make his mind active. With 
all spiritual or mental functions operative, with the influ- 
ence of the physical reduced to its lowest level, he is in 
that position where God may speak directly to his soul, when j 
it may be said of him, "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it J 
unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." In the mystical 
experience comes one supreme and all-pervading thought of 
God as an indwelling Power, and the consciousness of direct 
communion with him. Indeed, "God ceases to be an object 
and becomes an experience." A thirst for him is created that 
makes all the functions of the soul yearn for him. It brings 
into the realm of reality, through experience, Saint John's 
love-words, "We love him because he first loved us." It 
claims to know him without intermediary and as it were face 
to face, in the most natural way, with a mental approach to 
him through love. For the lover cannot bear anything be- 
tween himself and his beloved. Furthermore, it furnishes the 
soul with the mystical method of self-discipline, to be used 
for purgative and practical ends, and to be trusted as the 
true and only safe approach to that holy life so ardently de- 
sired, and without which no man can see God. 

It is verily true that the human personality is intended to 



FOR THE DEVOUT SOUL 



15 



be a clear mirror of God; in which his image and similitude 
can always be seen. Those acquainted with the mystical 
experience realize the truth of Tennyson's words, "closer is 
He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet." For the 
soul of man is a spiritual universe in miniature, in which 
Christ is born to give life and shed light abroad, and to open 
the way to God. It was even so with Nathanael, the mystic, 
as we shall see. He was waiting the coming of Him whose 
presence would bring life and make glad his spirit with a new 
faith through the fulfillment of the age-long hope of a devout 
Israelite. 

The Spiritual Approach 

The spiritual approach is one of a number of ways to reach 
a man's soul. In the case of Nathanael it was the direct route. 
By prayer and meditation he kept the spiritual highways of 
his life open. To touch any one of them meant immediate 
welcome into the inner experiences of his soul. His enlighten- 
ment is an illustration of Christ's method. He knew that the 
same approach could not be made to all men. What would 
reach one would fail with another. Every man goes across 
the field of human experience his own way. Hence the same 
gospel message will not reach all men. Each man is found 
for Christ when a gospel truth comes home to him, that is, 
when some part of it for which his moral and spiritual his- 
tory has prepared him falls across his life. The man living 
an intemperate life is not moved by the condemnation of the 
profane or the gambler or of the murderer. He must be ap- 
proached over another route. In other words, as a funda- 
mental proposition the evangelism of Jesus always takes into 
account a man's moral and spiritual history. Intuitively he 
discovered the direct approach in all men with whom he came 
to deal. He knew that every man should hear in his own 
tongue the wonderful works of God; that is, the tongue he 
could understand, the one that would appeal to him, that 
would seem most wonderful to him. Until that moment ap- 
pears the gospel seems void and limited. When suddenly some 
hitherto unstruck note goes flying home to him he gives atten- 
tion. His soul leaps into action, in anticipation, and ready 
in all eagerness. The one way to reach his soul clears, and 
the word of truth sheds the light of God forth, bringing 



16 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



confession and acknowledgment. The sensitive soul of Na- 
thanael was hidden away in the garden of mystical com- 
munion. No new light could reach him excepting over that 
spiritual approach toward God, and the fulfillment of his faith. 

Differential Evangelism 

Differential evangelism is characterized by the fact that it 
introduces into the spiritual life a new dynamic which can- 
not be developed by the soul through the exercise of its own 
powers. In this form are to be found the chief distinguishing 
features of the work of Jesus in developing the spiritual life. 
It answers to that need of the human spirit for frequent re- 
leases of new impulse and energy. Christian doctrine and 
truth have power to maintain the soul at the zenith of its 
capacities, changing the emphasis, making a difference in 
coloring and emotion, accentuating distinctions, and producing 
an endless variety of truth in its appeal to the soul. For 
this there is a threefold demand: 

First. Doctrine and truth meditated upon for any length 
of time lose their power to produce enthusiasm for moral 
initiative, and the soul settles into a mechanical life in which 
goodness becomes the embodiment of a ritual and the ex- 
pression of a habit. 

Second. Christian truths go into eclipse unless they are 
renewed from day to day in experience. They move into 
the shadow of those less worthy of consideration. They must 
be constantly supported by new light to keep them fresh and 
out in full sight above our intellectual horizon. 

Third. The life of the soul has a tendency to reduce itself, 
to lose its abounding enthusiasm for the things of the spirit. 
The weight of the physical, the handicap of the passions and 
appetites of the flesh, the daily toil with its exhaustion, tend 
to restrict, discourage, and subdue the abundant expression 
of the spiritual life. Unless an evangelistic emphasis that 
seeks to make a difference with believers is introduced at 
intervals, the life of the spirit is reduced to the lowest level. 
If there is offered no change from the old forms, the old 
types, the old experiences, the old threadbare truths, life 
becomes a wilderness and a solitary place. If at times a man's 
religion cannot make a difference for him in hope and faith 
and heart, he is lost. 



FOR THE DEVOUT SOUL 



17 



The Conversion of Nathanael 

Nathanael is an illustration of a devout man finding new 
soul-impulse. As an Old Testament believer he was devoted 
to all the forms and ceremonies of the Hebrew religion. 
Indeed, he was acquainted with the history of Israel and the 
message of her prophets. To him the Holy Land was the 
dwelling place of light. Through the providence of God he 
was of a distinguished and peculiar people. The past may 
have been dark, but to him it bore the marks of God's hand. 
The future was altogether bright. It carried the halo of his 
hopes. Upon the hilltops of futurity rested his cherished 
hope of the coming Messiah. He enjoyed all the precious 
promises of the Sacred Scriptures that lent charm and en- 
chantment to the spiritual life. He was a devout man, living 
a life of daily communion with God. He had realized in 
experience the blessings of prayer. He had his hours and his 
place of religious meditation, and had become a circumspect 
and upright man. He was an Israelite in whom there was 
no guile ; that is, his devotion and sincerity had so influenced 
him as to eliminate the family trait that marked his fore- 
father Jacob, whose guile made him rich in cattle and flocks. 
But Nathanael had found in his worship of Jehovah the 
spiritual values that make a changed man. Among a people 
noted for the cleverness of their guile, he was known for the 
beauty of his guilelessness. He had all his religion could 
be expected to furnish him — the power and satisfaction of an 
upright life. What more could any religion do for him? He 
had found the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Is not that 
the purpose of the highest religion? If the believer has been 
led to the worship of the true and only God, what more can 
be done for him? Could anything beyond that be recognized 
as highly supplementary? If he had reached the altitudes, 
why call him to Jesus? Can Christ do more for a man than 
cleanse him from guile? This faithful man had climbed to 
heights of personal perfection known to few men. Why not 
permit him to remain under the fig tree? Why not permit him 
to meditate under his own skies? Fig-tree religion is not 
Christianity. For this purpose Christ came to turn meditation 
into action, the vintage of the vine into mercy, and the fruit 
of the fig tree into food for men. Indeed, Nathanael's guile- 
lessness was without value until it gained currency among men. 



18 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



A Crisis Came into Nathanael's Life when he met his 
friend Philip, who with enthusiasm related to him how he 
had "found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, 
did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Being a 
devout man and acquainted with what Moses had written 
in the law, he had talked frequently with his friends of the 
Prophet of the Lord spoken of in Deut. 18. 15: "The Lord 
thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of 
thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall 
hearken"; and that other interesting passage, Gen. 49. 10: 
"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver 
from between his feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall 
the gathering of the people be"; and that other highly 
prophetic passage, Num. 24. 17-20.: "I shall see him, but not 
now : I shall behold him, but not nigh : there shall come a Star 
out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and 
shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children 
of Sheth, and Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a 
possession for his enemies ; and Israel shall do valiantly. 
Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and 
shall destroy him that remaineth of the city." 

With these passages of Scripture in memory, and being 
familiar with a large number from the prophets, he held in 
mind a portrait of the promised Messiah. He had looked 
upon that face in adoration. It had fixed itself in all its 
ineffable beauty in his thought until he had power to identify 
the original when he should appear. For when God planned 
to send his Son into the world he had but one means of mak- 
ing him known, that of the prophet's voice. Through this 
medium a portrait was drawn possessing coloring and lines 
different from those found in the picture of the average Jew, 
or even in the face of a prophet. Anyone acquainted with 
that delineation of the messengers of God could at once, 
upon seeing the Messiah as he appeared among men, say, 
"Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of 
Israel." 

The attitude of mind of Nathanael is worthy considera- 
tion. 

First He was in doubt when informed by Philip that he 
had "found him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, 
did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." He an- 
swered, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" 



FOR TH£ DEVOUT SOUL 



19 



He was a man of candor. Having his misgivings, he did not 
hesitate to express them. He felt that surely the Messiah 
would not come from a village unknown and unsung, whose 
name was not even mentioned by the prophets. That one 
fact concerning Jesus, son of Joseph, that he was of Nazareth, 
was sufficient to discredit him in the mind of a student of 
prophecy. 

Second. The second attitude of mind was a slight change 
toward consideration. Philip did not argue. He replied, 
"Come and see." That was enough. Permit a man to in- 
vestigate for himself is all that can be asked by doubt. 
Nathanael committed himself to the personal touch of Philip. 
He had found One who had delighted his soul. He must 
share that delight. He was so thoroughly convinced himself, 
he felt that one had but to see to agree with him. Nathanael 
was influenced by Philip's confidence. Having an open mind 
he was ready to sympathetically consider all the facts. He 
was preparing to observe and consider all he saw. He had 
inwardly prepared himself by reviewing his mental picture 
of the Messiah. With a steadfast resolution not to be de- 
ceived, he accompanied his friend to see the Man of Nazareth. 

Scarcely had he reached the circle of the influence of Jesus 
than he heard the Man address him, "Behold an Israelite 
indeed, in whom is no guile !" That was a remarkable 
characterization. It revealed the fact that he was one who 
answered to the name which marked the spiritual privilege 
of the chosen people and connected him with that wonderful 
victory of faith that transformed Jacob, the wrestler and 
supplanter, into Israel, a prince of God. Nathanael had small 
time to observe. He was caught up by the amazing insight 
of the Man. He could only ask for information, "Whence 
knowest thou me?" He had gone forth to discover the Christ 
and to ask many questions. He met himself and looked upon 
his own character. It was altogether likable, but the fact 
was, instead of having his mind filled with the claims of 
Jesus of Nazareth, when he met him, it was thrust full of 
what his own life of devotion and meditation under his own 
vine and fig tree had made of him. That was more than 
passing strange. "Jesus answered and said unto him, Before 
that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, 
I saw thee." This one fact was overwhelming. His own 
heart had been revealed to him and he had been connected 



20 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



with the promises of Israel. It was not that Jesus saw him 
afar off, when he was in the secret and quiet of his own life, 
but the fact that he was able instantly to uncover his entire 
life, and the goal of all his soul struggles. He saw himself 
under the touch of Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph, and 
cried out, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the 
King of Israel." He witnessed the great confession without 
going the way of reason. He was convinced by a flash of 
the intuitions, and passed at once into confidence and unalter- 
able assurance that "Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God." 
But the process goes one step farther. He is confirmed by 
these words : "Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under 
the fig tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things 
than these." Then, as with an effort to fill out the full 
capacity of his faith, Jesus said with unusual emphasis : 
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see heaven 
open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon 
the Son of man." 

Nathanael had met Jesus of Nazareth and had come into a 
threefold experience of reality. 

First. The reality of a dynamic in man which assured the 
prevailing power of prayer. His supplications and meditations 
had not fallen to the earth unnoticed. This One, like unto 
the Son of God, had taken into account his devotions under 
the fig tree. 

Second. The reality of Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of 
God, who by the power of spirit could gather up the past, 
appraise it as of superior value, and discern the action of 
men's lives regardless of distance and time. 

Third. The reality of a spiritual world connected with this 
material world, and between which forces and beings that 
express and obey the will of God pass to and fro — "Ye shall 
see . . . the angels of God ascending and descending upon 
the Son of man." 

In reality, he had a vision of God, different from any he 
had ever enjoyed. He believed in a Deity, as his fathers 
had, who lived in the past and wrought wonders in the days 
of his nation's history. Who he was and how he should think 
of him was a mystery. He had called him Lord, Jehovah, 
Elohim. Now he begins to think of him in terms of Jesus 
of Nazareth. God, an invisible Spirit, was real. He could 
express himself in a Son. He must therefore be a Father, 



FOR THE DEVOUT SOUL 



21 



capable of expressing himself in emotional power, and direct- 
ing his energies by intellectual power, and executing his pur- 
pose by volitional power. 

The Implications of Nathanael's Confession, "Rabbi, thou 
art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel," contain 
the profound teaching of this incident. To accept a Deity 
capable of expressing himself in a Son means the acknowl- 
edging by faith of a personal God. If man understands the 
psychology of personality, he will readily see that upon its 
implications is founded the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. 
If a man accepts faith in a personal Deity, he must interpret 
that faith in the terms of a Triune God. 

Our first course toward the understanding of the doctrine 
implied in this confession is the acceptance of the fact that 
there is in all men a sense of God. It is a faculty for the un- 
seen. It may be called the sixth sense. As the eye was made 
for light, the ear for sound, so the spiritual sense was made 
for God. In heathen religions that sense was permitted to 
run without restraint. It flew hither and yon, deifying all 
mystery, and wonder of hill and mountain, valley and plain, 
storm and summer rain. It was concentrated upon no definite, 
specific object for any length of time. It was in constant 
action and suffered no possibility of atrophy, but failed to 
gain by fixedness and control any great impulse for growth 
and development. 

In the Jewish, Mohammedan, Christian, and other mono- 
theistic religions the spiritual sense is controlled. It is not 
permitted to fly everywhere, but is confined and focused on 
one God. Concentration has its perils, for it produces sense- 
weariness and failure to respond in appreciation, as the eye 
concentrated upon an object of beauty wearies or the ear fails 
to hear a sweet sound unless frequently released for momen- 
tary rest. In this age, when monotheism is prevailing more and 
more, the human sense of God, because controlled, confined, 
and focused upon a one and only Deity, wearies. Being 
commanded by the proclamation that the world has come to 
a place where it must accept the God of our Lord Jesus 
Christ or have none at all, in many instances it refuses to 
function and settles into a state of inactivity that is worse than 
paganism. It is far better to be a heathen, and exercise the 
spiritual sense in deifying all about you, than to live in an 



22 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



age of one God and refuse to recognize him, for in so doing 
the loss of the finest human faculty will be life's greatest 
regret. 

The second implication of Nathanael's confession is that 
a man may worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 
and not be a Christian. He may be a Jew. He may be a 
Mohammedan. He may be a deist or a theist, refusing to be 
classed among atheists, and still not be a Christian. If this 
distinction could be driven as a cleavage into every man's 
life, all would come to see that to be a Christian means far 
more than accepting the God of the Old Testament. The 
Christian conception of God is altogether unique and distinc- 
tive. 

This point is to be emphasized; for many members of our 
churches, because they do not realize this, are getting no more 
out of their religion than if they were Jews. Belief in God 
does not make a Christian. A man thus believing may be 
religious, he may be devout, but he may not be a Christian. 
What, then, is the distinctive form of faith that makes a 
Christian ? 

The third implication of NathanaeFs confession is faith 
in a personal God who is seeking to express his feeling toward 
men. Christ was the embodiment of that feeling. When 
Christ is understood in the light of the Old and New Testa- 
ment teaching, one doctrine is found as fundamental and 
essential, distinguishing Christianity from all other religions. 
That doctrine is the Trinity. It has four well-defined lines 
of support: 

First, that of the Scripture. All passages teaching the Son- 
ship of Jesus Christ, and those presenting the office and 
personality of the Holy Spirit, support it, and have no sound 
interpretation without its acceptance. 

Second. Christian experience emphatically bears witness 
to a divine Father, a divine Saviour, and a divine Renewer. 
It knows nothing of three Gods, but asserts that these are 
one. A practical understanding of the Trinity, which cheered 
the hearts of early believers, still illumines and supports 
Christian experience. 

Third. Historic Christianity supports the Trinitarian faith. 
All through the centuries the growth of the church has been 
through the line of those who accepted faith in a Triune 
God. The Unitarian branch of Christianity has had no great 



FOR THE DEVOUT SOUL 



23 



missionary impulse. World conquest has been led by those 
inspired by a faith in the deity of Christ and the personality 
of the Holy Spirit. 

Fourth. Modern psychology supports it. Belief in a per- 
sonal God demands that personality shall reveal itself. Psy- 
chology teaches that personality is constantly seeking to ex- 
press itself, but is confined to three methods : that of thought, 
that of emotion, that of volition. In other words, personality 
is dependent for manifestation upon intellect, sensibility, and 
will. These prove to be the great avenues over which it goes 
into action. Furthermore, psychology furnishes a support 
to this doctrine from its interpretation of religious experi- 
ence. It claims that man can know a personal God only upon 
the basis of a trinitarian conception; that only a Deity mani- 
festing himself through intellect, sensibility and will can be 
understood by a creature endowed by these same faculties to 
express his own personality. 

A Trinity Based upon Personality must be one of mani- 
festation. It must be distinguished from tritheism, that would 
mean three persons and indicate a type of polytheism. A 
trinity of manifestation on the part of a personal God is a 
fundamental necessity. For Deity to be personal he must 
manifest himself in three ways : first, as a being with 
capacity to think; second, as a being with capacity to feel; 
third, as a being with capacity to will. Without these func- 
tions for self-expression on the part of any being, we are 
unable to think of him as personal. The Christian concep- 
tion of God is that of a Trinity of manifestation. 

What do we mean by a personal God? This requires a 
definition of personality. In these days, when Oriental mysti- 
cism and doctrines of an impersonal God are prevalent, and 
when men bearing the name of Christian, by failure to think 
clearly, are calling God a principle, we must make a positive 
statement that will not fail to carry the Christian content. 

Let us further define ourselves. By personality we do not 
mean corporeality. That would identify God with a body. 
Even the personality of man is not dependent upon his body. 
By personality we mean two things: first, self-consciousness ; 
second, self-determination. By self-consciousness I am aware 
that I am not the person present with me. I have a feeling 
of separateness, of individuality, of distinctiveness, that I am 



24 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



here and he is there. It is even so with the body in which I 
live. I am conscious that it is not I; that it is my dwelling 
place; the arm is not I, it is mine. This is the personal 
realization of self-consciousness. By self-determination I am 
conscious of my independence of the man I see near. When 
I act I know it is not he acting, but the result of my own 
will. I know that he does not control me. I go my way at 
my will. I am not a part of him, going here and there at his 
behest. I have power of self-determination. I am responsible 
for my own action, even to the movement of a hand or foot. 
They are the instruments of my will and are not responsible 
for what they do. I am a self-conscious and self-determina- 
tive being, living in a body which moves at my will, among 
other human creatures possessing the same powers as my- 
self. 

Christians believe in a personal God who has a self-con- 
scious existence apart from his creations, and who does not 
secrete, absorb or sustain them as a part of himself. 

Man Is a Triune Being. He Also Is a Personality. He 

cannot give full expression to himself through any one 
channel. He is confined to a trinity of manifestation. He 
can express himself in any one of three ways — intellect, 
sensibilities, and will. These constitute the field of human 
experience. If God is to make himself conscious to the human 
personality, he must approach him through one of these 
avenues. It is interesting as well as confirmatory that the 
doctrine of a Triune God perfectly conforms to that of a 
triune man. 

God the Father is God the Thinker, and articulates with 
the intellect of man. That conception of God appeals to man's 
thought. Fatherhood means responsibility and control. It 
means obligation and sacrifice. It involves the existence of 
a moral universe and laws for its support. Indeed, it carries 
all the great thoughts man is capable of entertaining. 

God the Son is the expressed feeling of God, and articulates 
with the sensibilities of man. He is the manifestation of love. 
He was begotten in affection. "God so loved the world that 
he gave his only begotten Son." That appeals to man's 
sensibilities. God the Son means mercy and concern, feeling 
and anxiety, sacrifice and suffering on the part of God. 
These open a path into the wide field of human sensibilities. 



FOR THE DEVOUT SOUL 



25 



He could not reach man's great emotional life through the 
avenue of intellect by the conception of fatherhood alone. 

God the Holy Spirit is the expression of the purpose of 
God, and articulates with the will of man. The Holy Spirit 
is the power of God sent to execute his will, to cleanse his 
temple, to reveal his Son, to make known his truth, to endue 
with power, to make his paths straight, to tear down king- 
doms and build up empires, to declare the acceptable year 
of the Lord. What man is in will, so is God in and through 
the Holy Spirit. At this point humanity and Deity may meet 
in wonderful realization of each other. 

On this conclusion rests the real and inviolable truth of the 
doctrine of the Trinity. It finds its validity in experience. It 
saves man's spiritual sense from weariness. While it is con- 
fined to the consideration of one God, it may vary its interest 
from God the Father to God the Son and to God the Holy 
Ghost. By this process in experience it may renew and 
refresh itself, never fainting, never wearying through the 
years of a long life. Furthermore, it may be stated that a 
believer never comes into the full experience of the Chris- 
tian's God until he comes to know not only the Father and 
the Son, but also the Holy Spirit. God cannot be known 
fully in experience by appeal to man's intellect through 
fatherhood. He is more than intellect, more than father. He 
cannot be known fully by an experience of Jesus Christ, his 
Son, appealing to man's sensibilities and entering the field of 
his emotional nature. God is more than Son, as man is more 
than sensibilities. Not until the avenue of will through whiciT" 
man expresses himself in the highest ranges of his personality j 
is approached by the unction of the Holy Spirit expressing 
the will and determination of God does a believer come into 
the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. 

So important did Christ consider this for religious experi- 
ence that he made repeated reference to the work and 
authority of the Holy Spirit. He rested the future of the 
Kingdom of Heaven upon him. He exalted the promise of 
his personal presence in the life of every believer. He made 
relationship to him the most sensitive point in the spiritual 
experience by asserting that sin against him could never be 
forgiven, enforcing the thought that he who neglects the 
Third Person of the Trinity, never mentioning him, never 
thinking of him, never recommending him, but satisfying 



26 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



himself with the thought of God, will have little more in 
experience than the highest type of Moslem or Jew. To re- 
ject or neglect the Third Person of the Trinity, as some 
Christians are strangely prone to do, is a sin of equal 
magnitude with that of the Jews, who rejected Christ mani- 
fest in the flesh. The full circle of the Christian conception 
of God must be experienced if there is to be power and life 
resulting in the evangelistic impulse. 

It was a differential evangelism that sent Philip out that 
day in search for Nathanael. He had experienced a change 
himself. Personal knowledge of Jesus of Nazareth had made 
him different. He had faith that the same would bring delight 
to his friend Nathanael. So it proved — the man of the fig 
tree was convinced. His emotions and sensibilities were cap- 
tured and released in a new world of faith and hope; and 
thus learning the Christian conception of God, he went forth 
with those who had with him found the truth, preaching the 
unsearchable riches of Christ. 

QUESTIONS FOR CLASS STUDY 

1. What method of approach have we to a study of the 
Evangelism of Jesus? 

2. Name the six types to be studied. 

3. What is a mystical type? 

4. What is the mystical experience? 

5. What is a spiritual approach? 

6. What is meant by differential evangelism? 

7. Was Nathanael a religious man ? Characterize him. 

8. What did Nathanael find in Jesus of Nazareth? 

9. What was Nathanael's threefold experience of reality? 

10. What do we mean by personality? 

11. What do we mean by a personal God? 

12. In what three ways may a personal God express himself? 

13. What do we mean by Trinity? 

14. Is man a triune being? 

15. How may man know a personal God? 



There is a distinction which has almost passed into the 
language of those who discuss the soul, and which was 
adopted by William James from Francis Newman— I mean 
the distinction between the once born and the twice born. 
There are, indeed, three classes — the unborn, in whom the 
soul has never broken through the life of nature at all; the 
once born, in whom it has emerged as the upper story oi 
nature, with the skylights turned to the sun; and the twice 
born, in whom it has not only emerged but, by a crisis, swift 
or slow, grace has gone to the center of the personality, 
and sat down on its throne making all things new. Let us 
keep for our purpose to the other two sorts — the natural 
man spiritualized and the natural man reborn. Do the twice 
born form but the upper story of the once born, as these 
did of the natural^ man ? There is certainly a difference — is 
it material, or is it a mere matter of degree? Is it a real 
and serious distinction between the once born, who, cherish- 
ing in relation to Christ a sincere but nonmiraculous and 
indecisive experience^ (swift or slow,) are content with an 
experience only sensitive and responsive to the spiritual values 
preeminent in Him — is there a real difference between them 
and the twice born, with an inner light which is a power 
much more than a light, a control more than a radiance, and 
a conversion which is more than a change — which is a re- 
birth? Is the difference real between those who feel but the 
impressiveness of Christ and those who own his regeneration? 
If the difference is very real, on which does the church and 
its welfare rest? Allowing that some individuals could not 
easily class themselves, which would they say was the note 
and life of a New Testament Church? — P. T. Forsythe. 



V 



CHAPTER II 



For an Inquiring Soul 

The Formal Type 

The Intellectual Approach 

Essential Evangelism 

The Conversion of Nicodemus 

Scripture: John 3. 1-13 

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a 
ruler of the Jews : 

The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, 
we know that thou art a teacher come from God : for no man 
can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with 
him. 

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say 
unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the king- 
dom of God. 

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when 
he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's 
womb, and be born? 

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a 
man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into 
the kingdom of God. 

That which is born of the flesh is flesh ; and that which is 
born of the Spirit is spirit. 

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the 
sound thereof, -but canst not tell whence it cometh, and 
whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 

Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these 
things be? 

Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of 
Israel, and knowest not these things? 

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, 
and testify that we have seen ; and ye receive not our witness. 

29 



THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how 
shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came 
down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 

Prayer 

Our blessed Lord, we would not forget thy presence. Thou 
hast promised to be with us in all our undertakings. We 
would not neglect by failing to turn our hearts to thee at 
the beginning of this hour of study. Give us power of mental 
application. Furnish us with a motive that will make us 
delight ourselves in learning more about thee. We are not 
as those without love for the high things of life. We have 
a hunger for that which the world -cannot give. We know 
thou hast provided for our love by the beauty in the faces 
of our friends, by the color of the summer sky, and the 
mystery of vale and mountain. But these cannot satisfy our 
souls. We want to be more like thee. We know thou hast 
provided for our need of pleasurable sounds by the harmonies 
of sweet songs and the voices of those we love. But these 
cannot always bring us gratification. We must hear thy 
voice, or be as those who walk alone, lamenting the absence 
of a choice companion. 

Help us to discover in this lesson our true relation to 
thee. We pray to be delivered from the bondage of sin. We 
yearn to have the full heritage of the sons of God. Help us 
not to trust in that which is natural, but to seek always that 
which is spiritual. Being born from above, by faith in Jesus 
Christ our Lord, we know that old things have passed away 
and all things have become new. Our joy is that of those 
who love thee. Our peace and assurance are of those who 
seek thee in the morning, walk with thee during the day, and 
rejoice in thy blessed fellowship in the evening. Teach us 
to live as becometh those who bear thy name. May we find 
in this hour the dwelling place of light, through Jesus Christ. 
Amen. 

Introduction 

The evangelism of Jesus for an inquiring soul is illustrated 
in the conversion of Nicodemus, a man of the Pharisees and 



FOR AN INQUIRING SOUL 



3i 



a ruler of the Jews. He was of a particular group, known as 
the formal type, who must always be approached by the way 
of the intellect. It requires the application of those essential 
truths without which a man cannot know the God of Jesus 
Christ, neither live the spiritual life he came to reveal. 

Many men come to the enjoyment of the truth through 
intellectual struggle. Doubts by a strange process obstruct 
the way of access to the mind. All such men come slowly 
to the light. They wrestle and suffer. They grope and 
agonize. They thirst and cry out for the truth that will 
satisfy them. But the man who comes in the darkness of 
doubt to obtain the light is always abundantly rewarded. For 
to doubt is not sinful. It is a state of mind that when based 
upon a sincere desire to acquire knowledge is commended of 
God. When it is permitted to become chronic, refusing to 
accept the truth when presented, it is reprehensible. When 
it is made an artifice to conceal a sin that the heart has come 
to love it is to be feared as an enemy of the soul. The in- 
quiring mind, out in the world in search of the great facts 
of life and human destiny, always commands the respect of 
Christ. If it is led by doubt in the dark, the lamp it uses 
will always be held by the hand of faith which ever assures 
that truth can be found, though the night is on ; therefore, 
faint not in the pursuit. Jesus finds a way to the inquiring 
soul, over the path of personal responsibility. He directs the 
truth of the spirit past a man's defenses, past his pretenses to 
the citadel of his soul. He knows that the human intuitions 
have power to accredit truth, capture doubt and satisfy the 
heart. He meets the ruler of the Jews with confidence that 
he can help him. 

The Formal Type 

Nicodemus was of the formal type, which relies on birth 
and good breeding, on art and education, sacraments and 
rituals, as sources of moral and spiritual progress. Men of 
this type trust in nature and the processes of culture to which 
they may be subjected, to bring those highly capacitated into 
the kingdom of heaven. They believe that humanity in its 
upper ranges will inevitably find its way to God. They claim 
that the soul needs but the external stimulant to bring it 
forth into the full exercise of its powers; that an improved. 



32 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



social arrangement, a higher environment, are alone necessary 
to elevate the race, and bring it to its full spiritual capacity. 
Within their limits these forces are invaluable. However, 
when they have done their utmost, they leave man inwardly 
unchanged. To rest human salvation on self-improvement 
and social reform is nothing more than depending upon the 
laws of this natural world to redeem sin-crushed and cursed 
humanity. 

The formal type seeks the way to God through intellect, 
reason laboriously reaching through the darkness ; always 
coming by night, never standing in the open path, never get- 
ting any farther than the twilight zone of ritualistic forms 
and ceremonies. It would satisfy itself with generation, and 
measure its highest product by a scale of respectability. It 
would justify itself by the excellence of its moral training. 
It would make redemption depend upon degrees of cultural 
attainment, and salvation a matter of preferential faith in 
Christ. To a formalist in religion the great soul struggles 
out of which a man emerges a new moral being are a mystery 
as profound and impossible as a man being born again when 
he is old. A man of this type cannot be approached by every 
path. He who would capture him for Christ must find the 
way over which his soul has gone in its spiritual journey, and, 
traversing that, reach the sequestered citadel and take it in 
the name of the higher truth of the Spirit. 

The Intellectual Approach 

The intellectual approach was used by Jesus in dealing with 
Nicodemus. This method appeals to reason and to the knowl- 
edge a man already has on the subject under discussion. It 
seeks to connect his thinking with the new thought under con- 
sideration. It refuses to value any appeal to the emotions. 
Sentiment is carefully rejected. All personal application of 
the truth, all evidence of soul-searchings, are studiously 
avoided. This evangelistic method seeks to go straight to 
the intellectual perception, knowing that where there is 
honesty and moral rectitude the truth will find its way to the 
heart. This approach is the most difficult for four reasons : 
(i) It requires patience. (2) It requires information. (3) 
It requires familiar knowledge of human nature. (4) It 
requires persistence, for at the psychological moment the soul 



FOR AN INQUIRING SOUL 33 



in its sensitiveness to capture may elude its pursuer. Hence 
it must be conceded that ability to bring a man over the in- 
tellectual approach to the acceptance of the profound mystery 
of the soul life, and to experience its reality, is not to be 
gained without much diligence and prayer. 

Essential Evangelism 

It should be therefore readily seen that the intellectual 
approach is always used by Essential Evangelism. Non- 
essentials do not count when an appeal is made to the in- 
tellect. It seeks to do the work of laying the foundation of 
the Christian life deep in the finest faculties of human nature. 
It seeks to eliminate emotion, to avoid metaphor, to arrive 
at the last and fundamental thing. It asks, at the final 
analysis, What differentiates a Christian from the unbeliever? 
It endeavors to find the essential truth that will make a 
Christian. What that truth is cannot be told in a passing 
mood. Only few men can be trusted to make out of it the 
full form of what Christ meant the spiritual life to be. He 
answered the question in dealing with Nicodemus, as we 
shall find in further study, as though he knew that what was 
essential for one man was not for another, or that behind 
all men there was a point of truth to which few ever pene- 
trate, where the same action of faith would produce the same 
results. In this case of the inquiring soul of Nicodemus the 
essential truth was expressed in the sentence, "Except a man 
be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven" 
(see John 3. 3, margin). This is so general a proposition 
that, when we consider the wide range of the Christian faith 
and the large number of the essential elements, we find it 
difficult to articulate and associate it with others in whose 
light it must be interpreted. Jesus went so far in presenting 
the essential element of his evangelism in this instance that 
men have found it a serious task in endeavoring to under- 
stand him and to agree to any extent on a common interpre- 
tation of his words. And yet, upon a candid consideration 
of all that he has said, and the teaching of the apostles, at 
the last analysis we may faithfully and unequivocally avow 
that the Christian life begins with a spiritual crisis of more or 
less definiteness, which Christ was pleased to call a birth from 
above. 



34 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



The Conversion of Nicodemus 

The conversation of Jesus with Nicodemus, whose inquiring 
soul sought him in the night, is one of the most thought- 
provoking incidents in his short career. The ruler of the 
Jews sought the Prophet of Galilee alone, and when he knew 
the Master would not be disturbed by the jostling crowd. 
Personally he was a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, 
a ruler among the Jews, a student, not only of the history of 
his people but also of the times in which he lived. He was 
a man with the night lamp. His inquiring mind made him an 
investigator, a discoverer of moral motive and appreciative of 
spiritual truth; but it also produced out of him a man of 
indecision, who could see the truth by night, even midst storm 
and stress, at his own peril, and still not find conviction enough 
to rise and stand for it. For this reason he has been called 
the Hamlet of the New Testament. 

In contrast with Nathanael, he was trained and cultured 
in the ways of men. He rested faith on authority, Nathanael 
on hope and Scripture. He looked to the past with all its 
evidence of God's favor; Nathanael looked to the future 
when the coming of the Messiah would bless his people. He 
trusted in tradition, believed the words of the prophets could 
never be surpassed; Nathanael trusted in the fulfillment of 
the law and the prophets in the glorious day of the Lord. 
He was a formalist in religion, trusting in the sanctity of 
burnt-offerings, and the payment of tithe of mint and anise 
and cummin; Nathanael was a realist to whom the things 
of God were literally true. He looked for the coming of a 
kingdom with the return of the glory of the throne of David ; 
Nathanael looked for the coming of the Messiah, who would 
speak to men's hearts of the majesty and regard of the God 
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. While Nicodemus stood in the 
midst of indecision with the shadows of night falling across 
his path asking, "What shall I do?" Nathanael arose from 
his prayers and meditation to ask, "What shall I be?" 

Nicodemus was a man of action, strong, impulsive, caught 
up by the great intellectual problems of life and driven on 
a shoal. Until he met Jesus of Nazareth he did not think 
the problems of the spirit were so profound. He grounded 
on the first question, and could only answer, "How can these 
things be?" 



FOR AN INQUIRING SOUL 



35 



Nicodemus, a formalist in religion, did not worship God 
as an individual. He worshiped and prayed according to a 
form provided for use by all members of his religious group. 
His was a social or ritualistic religion. The formulas he re- 
peated any man of his group could have repeated. The 
scripture he recited any man of his station could have recited. 
The songs he sang and the prayers he offered had been pro- 
vided by some one else, not for him alone, but for all who 
believed with him. He was unfamiliar with any particular, 
distinctive, individualistic note that might have been formed 
out of his own heart need. In his conversation with Jesus 
he takes three positions : 

First. He speaks from his social position. "Rabbi, we know 
that thou art a teacher come from God : for no man can do 
these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him." In 
these words is the voice of the religious group to which he 
belonged. That select body of men, representative of the most 
conservative interests of the Jewish religion, spoke. He did 
not speak for himself. He expressed the opinion of his class. 
"We know" — that was the voice of the Pharisees. Jesus saw 
him hiding behind the opinions of others. He answered him 
direct, with an effort to separate him from his class conscious- 
ness : "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the king- 
dom of God." This was more definite — "a man," an in- 
dividual. That was distinct ground, separate and apart. 
Would Nicodemus step over and occupy it? Christ meets 
no man at first on the level of the social group. In this 
instance the attempted social formula of religion was thrust 
aside, the individual was pushed to the front : "Except a man 
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 

Second. Nicodemus changed the attitude and spoke from 
his position of authority: "How can a man be born when 
he is old?" That was the voice of the official man. He spoke 
from this position as a ruler of the Jews. He had heard the 
announcement of a new doctrine. It stirred the officer in 
him, and placed him on his guard. Did he hear a heresy or 
the vaporing of an impossibility? The ruler in Israel was 
not only interested, but aroused in defense of what he had 
been taught was the truth. He saw himself for the moment 
as a defender of the faith committed unto Israel. He saw 
himself — that was sufficient. 

Third. Jesus proceeded with his discourse on individual 



36 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



salvation until Nicodemus took his third position — that of an 
individual standing in amazement before the fundamental 
truth of the spiritual life, namely, the explanation of the 
birth from above: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; 
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." The ruler 
of the Jews shows himself bewildered. As an individual he 
forgets the members of his class, the Pharisees, and that 
group of the Sanhedrin among whom he held forth as a 
reliable leader. He has arrived at his own threshold and 
stops with what he considered an ultimate interrogative, 
"How can these things be?" Immediately Jesus pinioned the 
individual Nicodemus with the direct personal question, ap- 
pealing to his judgment as a man of wisdom and authority, 
"Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?" 
Having brought his inquisitor to the place where he stood 
alone, apart from his group, Jesus was able to deal with him 
in the highest interests of his soul. 

The Nicodemus Type of Religion fails at least at three 
points : 

First. At the point of individualism. Men cannot be saved 
en masse. The kingdom of heaven does not come first in 
social movement, nor in the perfecting of religious formulas 
drafted for the use of the multitude, but, rather, in the heart 
of the individual; for those words of Christ, "The kingdom 
of heaven is within you," must not be forgotten. 

Second. At the necessity for regeneration. There is a 
difference between generation and regeneration. The second 
cannot be dispensed with by the scientific application of cul- 
tural processes. It is a basic, universal necessity. In this 
position there is a demand to distinguish between that which 
is of the flesh and that which is of the spirit. Nothing relat- 
ing to the birth and growth of the body can be adapted to 
or substituted for the birth of the spirit. These only furnish 
a capacity which, functioning by faith in Jesus Christ, reach 
fruition in the spiritual birth. 

Third. At the point of necessity for a doctrine of salvation 
for human salvage. By nature a man cannot go back and 
reconstruct his life. If he wrecks his character and comes 
to grief, he is denied another chance to rebuild. Where re- 
generation is denied, degeneration works its rapid processes. 
A religion that can take the individual after he has sinned 



FOR AN INQUIRING SOUL 



37 



away his youth and restore his powers, enthrone his will, 
cleanse his affections, and make his entire moral nature react 
against his past, is of the Spirit and must come from God. 
The religion Nicodemus professed knew nothing of that life 
which is born from above. To him it was a profound mystery 
for which there could be, on the basis of sanity, no satis- 
factory solution. 

The Reason for the Presentation of the doctrine of the 
new birth to Nicodemus is not obvious. He was a patrician 
among the religionists of his people. As an upright man he 
represented the highest type of morality and devotion. He 
was not a profligate and a sinner, whose life was crying out 
for a new birth. Why did Jesus meet him with this doctrine? 
Why did he not approach him with a truth similar to that 
he gave to Nathanael? Nicodemus would seem to be the last 
man to whom the doctrine of the birth from above would be 
applicable and fundamental. The answer is direct: Because 
he trusted in his birth to enable him to inherit the kingdom 
of God. He was of the sons of Abraham and an heir of 
the promises. He was a man of position, a member of the 
party of the Pharisees, and enjoyed a seat among the rulers 
of his people in the Sanhedrin. Being a child of Abraham, 
his birth would surely give him a place in the kingdom of 
heaven. What an illustration of the keen discernment of 
Jesus in his method of approach ! As long as Nicodemus 
trusted in the merits of his physical birth he could never be 
brought to see the distinct and supreme value of the birth 
of the Spirit. Without doubt it was the most essential doc- 
trine for him at that moment. 

The disillusionment of a man is not brought about instantly. 
However, that was what Jesus found necessary in this in- 
stance. To convince him that being born a son of Abraham 
did not count before the demands of the kingdom of heaven 
meant invalidating the fundamental principle of his faith. 
With a most positive statement the Master places the spirit- 
ual over against the physical birth. "Except a man be born 
from above he cannot see the kingdom of God" (see John 
3. 3, margin). He confronts the man with an inexorable 
alternative. There is not "either, or." It is one thing or 
nothing. The spiritual birth is a fundamental absolute. Nico- 
demus protests, "How can a man be born when he is old?" 



38 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



Is not one birth sufficient? Does not the physical birth with 
its property of descent contain the entire destiny of man? 

Jesus made a definite distinction: "Except a man be born 
of water" — physical birth; "Except a man be born of the 
spirit" — spiritual birth. Flesh is flesh, spirit is spirit. Their 
origin and operations are separate and distinct. He knew 
of a life possible to humanity, "born, not of blood, nor of the 
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." To 
think correctly of the kingdom of the Spirit is fundamental, 
for at this point rests our faith in a natural and a super- 
natural religion. If we become sons of God by physical 
descent, then we remove the necessity for a definite spiritual 
birth. This is consenting to the doctrine that human destiny 
is contained from the beginning in heredity and environment. 

There were five reasons for Jesus laying down this definite 
and positive doctrine for Nicodemus : 

First. To him religion was the expression of the highest 
natural forms of man. 

Second. To him religion could be explained altogether as 
the proper unfoldment of the physical life of man. 

Third. To him the spiritual life could be accounted for by 
heredity, environment, training, and individual initiative. 

Fourth. To him the kingdom of God was the reestablish- 
ment of Israel. 

Fifth. To him the kingdom of God was the supremacy of 
his tribe and the survival of his family. 

The doctrine of the spiritual birth carries with it the truth 
of an invaluable current of heredity, which flows from above, 
concealed in the life that is hid with Christ in God. The 
lower stream flows through the individual life from many 
ancestors, influencing him almost to the elimination of per- 
sonal responsibility. This is physical. The higher stream 
is that of spiritual heredity, connecting a man with God, lifting 
him into the control of forces that come not from beneath 
but from above, defining personal responsibility and accentuat- 
ing moral control. 

Jesus succeeded in bringing the ruler of the Jews to see 
his position. It was a revelation, but clear and inexorable. 
Sons of Abraham by natural generation must be born from 
above to become the sons of God. This is distinctively Chris- 
tian. He who has not realized it in his own life stands with 
Nicodemus, worshiping the God of Abraham, not knowing 



FOR AN INQUIRING SOUL 



39 



the essential difference personal faith in Jesus Christ can 
make in securing a heritage of sonship with himself in God. 

The Doctrine of the New Birth has a definite place in the 
evangelism of Jesus. It has its mystery which can only be 
reduced by Christian experience. It presents that doctrine of 
sonship, which remains a matter of controversy, and at the 
same time claims to be the fundamental distinction of Christ's 
teaching. Therefore all who would follow him in experience 
and faith will seek to clearly understand him, lest they fail 
to enjoy the full light of the truth to which he referred 
when he said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life : no 
man cometh unto the Father, but by me." 

In discussing the teaching of the new birth we discover, 
first, its mystery, and, second, its necessity. 

First, the mystery of "the birth from above." Its funda- 
mental inference is that flesh and spirit are distinct. One is 
born from below, and through all the days on earth draws life 
from that source. To what extent can such a creature become 
a spiritual being? It is a matter for definition. What dis- 
tinction can be made between a natural and a spiritual being? 
Again, we refer to our former definition of personality, and 
find in that the characterization desired — self-consciousness 
and self-determination. As far as we are able to tell, man 
is the only creature on earth manifesting these two charac- 
teristics. Inorganic nature has no conscious existence. The 
plant and the animal have a purely objective life. They have 
a limited degree of self-activity, but they do not have power of 
consciously determining their present or future. They main- 
tain themselves and develop by the subjugation of external 
conditions to the law of their being. Neither of them can 
know or will its own inner conquest. In the realm of nature 
man stands apart with this distinction : he maintains and 
develops himself primarily by the subjugation of internal con- 
ditions ; that of external nature is secondary. The spirit- 
uality of man is manifest in his capacity to plan conscious 
action which determines his life to-morrow. Upon this basis 
it is claimed that man, by nature a spiritual being, should not 
be considered a creature, but a son of God. He was originally 
created in the image of Deity and after his likeness. There- 
fore it is claimed that all men are, in a fundamental sense, 
sons of God. What, then, does Christ mean by stating the 



A 



40 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



necessity of another birth as conditioning sonship with him- 
self in God? It is a profound mystery. Wherein does Jesus 
Christ enter into a man's life to make him different from other 
men? It is thought of, in this instance, in the language of 
a birth from above. 

There is a scientific significance to this phrase that must not 
be overlooked. "Born from above" expresses the reality of 
a law of God's universe. Modern science has traced it in 
many of its applications, but Jesus was the first to mention 
it. It avows that the different kingdoms — mineral, vegetable, 
and animal — are closed to each other from beneath; that is, 
the one below cannot enter the one above. There is no com- 
munication, only as life from above descends to that below 
and lifts it up. Christ had three experiences in which he 
referred to this law: (i) In his temptation, when Satan 
suggested, "Turn these stones into bread" — the original reads, 
"From above into bread." Stones cannot be turned into 
bread any other way. (2) When dealing with Nicodemus, 
Jesus said, "Except a man be born from above, he cannot see 
the kingdom of God." For the kingdom of man can be 
entered only from above. Life must come down and lift it 
up into the spiritual kingdom. (3) In answering Pilate, the 
Roman procurator, Jesus said, "Thou couldest have no power 
at all against me, except it were given thee from above" (John 
19. 11). Power of control released from above is a mystery to 
the average man. Yet Christ was conscious of it and walked 
submissively in the presence of its reality. 

His position is based upon this twofold truth: (1) That 
man by nature has a residuum of spirituality that can be 
acted upon by life from above, that it represents capacity 
for spiritual response and can be transformed and lifted into 
spiritual life, that when the life from above arrives in a 
man's being it culminates the process by which he becomes 
a spiritual being, called a son of God. (2) That Jesus him- 
self is that life from above which, if received by faith, pro- 
duces that inner change in a man's spirit that lifts him into 
a distinctive life which the New Testament declares is entered 
by a new birth. 

Not only does physical science throw light upon this teach- 
ing of Jesus as a mystery and reality, but psychology also 
lends its assistance. In this field of study it is claimed that 
man is not a rational creature until in his individual growth 



FOR AN INQUIRING SOUL 



4i 



he becomes a self-conscious being. In the first period of his 
life he is a body of instincts, appetites, and passions. These 
determine his action and control his volition. They initiate 
him into life, give him a certain direction, and prepare the 
way for the higher moral and rational activities. But while 
the child-man is on this level he is driven practically by the 
same forces that control in the animal kingdom. It is an 
automatic form of life with mechanical expressions, that 
readily pronounce it as not having reached the level of 
rationality and morality. However, there comes a period in 
the development of the individual when a new element in 
his being appears. The age of accountability arrives. The 
moral will announces itself by asserting control. The self- 
conscious being seeks to be free and to assert the right of 
self-direction. The old impulses, appetites, passions, and in- 
stincts assert themselves against the demand of moral con- 
trol. Then appears that inner struggle known to all good 
men. It is of the very essence of that self-conscious nature 
to be divided against itself and to win its perfection, its ideals, 
its freedom, and its harmony as the result of a fierce and pro- 
tracted internal strife. This is the characteristic of a moral 
being. Man living on the moral level and maintaining the 
rational direction of his life finds a continuous conflict of 
nature with spirit, of impulse with reason, of the lower with 
the higher self. He is driven to accept the conclusion that for 
a rational self-conscious being there is no escape from this 
conflict. However, as years come and go and experience 
lengthens in a man living apart from Christ, the lower 
passions, appetites, and instincts become articulate with his 
moral will by pulling it down from its original high spiritual 
levels to the place where, though subordinated, they neutralize 
the struggle against them and function at will. 

The foregoing is a characterization of man as he is by 
nature. What change is brought about when, by the exercise 
of faith, Christ enters the life? What does he find there? 
A discord, a conflict, a restlessness, a struggling for mastery 
on the part of the self against that which is regarded as the 
"not self," which comes to stand over against the real self, 
takes on the form of another self, clamors for conscious 
indulgence, and seeks to draw over into itself from the higher 
nature a kind of illegitimate right to live. It endeavors to 
slowly close up the field of strife and articulate freely as 



42 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



a part of the higher self. At this place in the struggles 
between man's real self and the control of the self of pas- 
sions, instincts, and appetites, Christ enters human experience, 
and the birth from above which makes a man a son of God 
occurs. Not until a moral conflict is produced, creating with- 
in a man a dual consciousness, we call conviction for sin, 
does Christ have an opportunity to exercise his influence in 
the life. Not until a man sees, set over against what he is, 
an unsettling vision of Avhat he can be, are spiritual conditions 
ready for Christ. When faith acts a new element enters into 
that struggle. It is not of man. It is of Christ. He com- 
pletes the division between the two sections of the split per- 
sonality, sets the man over against his evil self, makes the 
battle distinct and defines its limits. One great soul, Saul 
of Tarsus, under his leadership in the midst of such a con- 
flict cried out in memorable words, "O wretched man that 
I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" 
Then with a marvelous assurance he answered, "I thank God 
through Jesus Christ our Lord." Here is the secret of Christ 
in Christian experience. Christ sets the self-conscious being 
free from the downward pull of the natural propensities by 
giving absolute supremacy to the spiritual self. This is the 
guarantee of primacy and victory which brings joy, comfort, 
and enlargement for the faculties that make a well-defined 
spiritual being, who has a right to be called a son of God. 
Such an experience occurring in the soul must be a conscious 
one, and is a deliverance like unto the release by birth after 
the storms and cold of a winter of death. 

Second, the necessity of the "birth from above" is opposed 
by those who contend that all men are sons of God by nature. 
They are born so, remain so, and can never be anything else 
whether saints or sinners, believers or unbelievers. This dis- 
places the necessity for a spiritual birth and closes those 
avenues for the soul to reach the higher ranges of spiritual 
development. This position must be carefully guarded, for 
the. natural unfoldment of the spiritual faculties must not 
be made to depend upon life from nature, to supply them 
with power to function, but upon life from above. It must 
also be emphasized that while religious education, with its 
training of the faculties and enrichment of the mind, is the 
ground work of the Christian life and must be accomplished 
in the days of youth, still the life that functions through the 



FOR AN INQUIRING SOUL 



43 



trained faculties must be of spiritual origin and daily sustained 
from above. The forms and means of expression afforded 
by man for the soul's manifestation of itself are under human 
control, but the life and the nurture that supports it must 
come from God. When the individual reaches adult life 
without the influence of religious training having nurtured 
and developed his spiritual powers, preparing them for the 
life from above, the provision of a second birth becomes a 
divine necessity. If this be not true the evangel for the adult 
life through the doctrine of regeneration ceases to sound. For 
if there is no possibility of second birth, the man of mature 
life who has gone away from his Father's house and spent 
his substance in riotous living cannot hope for regeneration 
and another chance. 

In the light of Christ's teaching, the birth from above 
must not be disposed of by psychology or a theory of evolu- 
tion. He is our authority, and we must attend unto what 
he has to say. He did not hesitate to declare unto a man of 
proud and cultured birth, "Ye must be born again." He 
surely meant to teach that there was a particular and unique 
sense in which men were to become the sons of God. He 
also leads us to infer that there is an experience produced by 
a crisis through which a soul passes into the highest pos- 
sible relationship with God. He repeatedly drew a marked 
and striking distinction between those who had accepted by 
faith their sonship in God and those who had not. The differ- 
ence was so vast as to be that of fundamental nature, similar 
to the difference between the sheep and the goat. The same 
position is maintained by Saint John in his Gospel and epistles. 
He makes a broad, deep, and appalling difference between 
men who are God's sons by faith and those who are not. Saint 
Paul repeatedly revealed the fact that he conceived the Chris- 
tian life as a possibility for mature men through a soul crisis 
that made a believer in Jesus Christ in a unique sense a son of 
God. On a scriptural basis we are driven to this position, 
that to be sons of God we must share the life of God, of 
righteousness, purity, compassion, holiness, and love. Where 
these are not, men cannot be considered in any spiritual sense 
sons of God. 

However, independent thinking leads us to inquire further : 
Is there any appreciable sense in which God is the Father 
of all men, regardless of their relation to Jesus Christ? Is 



44 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



this claim based on a certain relative and limited ground? 
Is it made as a benevolent and superficial generalization based 
upon sentiment, rather than upon reason and Scripture? If 
God is the Father of men in a very real sense, then the law 
of heredity must hold and demand an explanation. If God 
is the Father of all men, how can we account for the fact 
that many of his sons are drunkards, habitual liars, selfish, 
morally coarse, sensual, heartless, and so mean that Jesus 
when he saw them, said, "They were of their father the 
devil"? How can we account for the dark vein of heredity 
in the unregenerate sons of man? Will we hold God re- 
sponsible for their immoral conduct? Is he the Father of 
children born with a capacity for sin? To some extent then 
his Fatherhood is either limited or accommodated. 

Again, if the Fatherhood of God covers all men, then we 
may argue that a son shares his Father's equality. He may 
even become his superior in strength, intellect, soundness of 
judgment, and moral goodness. This is the beauty, privilege, 
and crown of sonsljip. Can any man, as a son of God, even 
approach equality with him ? In that sense we cannot possibly 
be his sons. This conception of the Fatherhood of God finds 
another limitation. 

Again, if the Fatherhood of God covers all men, then we 
may argue that on the basis of nature man does not approach 
the moral sphere of God, for instance, his highest glory in 
his moral perfection. Destroy that and you destroy our 
thought of him. Men may be righteous or unrighteous and 
still be men; not so with God. Men may be pure or impure 
and still be men; not so with God. Men may be holy or un- 
holy and still be men; not so with God. Men may be cruel 
or compassionate and still be men; not so with God. Men 
may be selfish or unselfish and still be men; but not so with 
God. Reduce or modify his moral nature and he loses his 
identity. In our conception of man, morality or immorality 
does not disturb our fundamental thought of him. What 
relation, then, can a being so opposite hold to the Moral 
Ruler of the universe? Can he call him Father when that 
which makes him distinguishable has so small weight in 
determining his own being? Upon the basis of nature the 
Fatherhood of God is a long bridge across a wide chasm, 
built by man, with no abutment on the other end; for it 
declares that all men are God's sons, which is realizable only 



FOR AN INQUIRING SOUL 45 



on the condition of faith as v/e commonly understand Father- 
hood. However, this should be accepted as true, that God is 
the Father of all men in a potential sense, which may be 
realized on conditions stated by Christ and recorded in other 
parts of the New Testament. 

In dealing with the soul of Nicodemus, Jesus presented an 
illustration of essential evangelism. Its fundamental claim 
is that the spiritual life as a Christian finds it has a definite 
beginning, and is on a higher level than any life drawing its 
sources from the physical powers and functions. Its origin 
is that of a birth. By faith in Jesus Christ believers come 
into a unique relationship to God in which they may truth- 
fully be called his sons. They come to the enjoyment of a 
spiritual heredity, and the realization of a consciousness of 
special favor with God as a sure and fast support. 

QUESTIONS FOR CLASS STUDY 

1. What is a formal type? 

2. What is an intellectual approach? 

3. What is essential evangelism? 

4. Give three attitudes of Nicodemus toward Jesus. 

5. Wherein did the Nicodemus type of religion fail? 

6. Why did Jesus present to Nicodemus the doctrine of 
the new birth? 

7. What is the doctrine of the new birth? 

8. What is the mystery of the new birth? 

9. In what sense is there a reality in the new birth? 

10. How does psychology explain the new birth? 

11. What happens when Christ enters human experience? 

12. Characterize man as he is by nature. 

13. In what respect is the new birth a necessity? 

14. In what respect are men sons of God through faith in 
Jesus Christ? 

15. In what respect is God the Father of all men? 



Grant that Jesus was really God, and everything falls 
orderly into its place. Deny it, and you have a Jesus and a 
Christianity on your hands both equally unaccountable; and 
that is as much as to say that the ultimate proof of the 
deity of Christ is just — Jesus and Christianity. If Christ 
were not God, we should have a very different Jesus and a 
very different Christianity. And this is the reason that 
modern unbelief bends all its energies in a vain effort to 
abolish the historical Jesus and destroy historical Chris- 
tianity. Its instinct is right, but its task is hopeless. We need 
the Jesus of history to account for the Christianity of history. 
And we need both the Jesus of history and the Christianity 
of history to account for the history of the world. The his- 
tory of the world is tht product of that precise Christianity 
which has actually existed, and the Christianity is the product 
of the precise Jesus which actually was. To be rid of this 
Jesus we must be rid of this Christianity, and to be rid of 
this Christianity we must be rid of the world-history that 
has grown out of it. We must have the Christianity of his- 
tory and the Jesus of history or we have the world that 
exists, and as it exists, unaccounted for. But so long as we 
have either the Jesus of history or the Christianity of his- 
tory, we shall have a divine Jesus. — Warfield. 



CHAPTER III 



For the Sinful Soul 

The Defective Type 
The Moral Approach 
Initial Evangelism 

The Conversion of the Woman of Samaria 

Scripture : John 4. 5-42 

Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called 
Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his 
son Joseph. 

Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied 
with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the 
sixth hour. 

There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus 
saith unto her, Give me to drink. 

(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy 
meat.) 

Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it 
that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a 
woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the 
Samaritans. 

Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the 
gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to 
drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have 
given thee living water. 

The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw 
with, and the well is deep : from whence then hast thou that 
living water? 

Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us 
the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and 
his cattle? 

Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of 
this water shall thirst again: 

49 



50 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him 
shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall 
be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 

The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that 
I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. 

Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 

The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus 
said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 

For thou hast had five husbands ; and he whom thou now 
hast is not thy husband : in that saidst thou truly. 

The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a 
prophet. 

Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and ye say, that 
in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, 
when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, 
worship the Father. 

Ye worship ye know not what : we know what we worship : 
for salvation is of the Jews. 

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers 
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the 
Father seekest such to worship him. 

God is a Spirit : and they that worship him must worship 
him in spirit and in truth. 

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, 
which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all 
things. 

Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. 

And upon this came his disciples, and marveled that he 
talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? 
or, Why talkest thou with her? 

The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into 
the city, and saith to the men, 

Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: 
is not this the Christ? 

Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. 

In the meanwhile his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, 
eat. 

But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know 
not of. 

Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man 
brought him aught to eat? 

Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him 
that sent me, and to finish his work. 

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh 
harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look 
on the fields ; for they are white already to harvest. 



FOR THE SINFUL SOUL 



5i 



And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit 
unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that 
reapeth may rejoice together. 

And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another 
reapeth. 

I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor: 
other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors. 

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him 
for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me 
all that ever I did. 

So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought 
him that he would tarry with them : and he abode there two 
days. 

And many more believed because of his own word; 

And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of 
thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that 
this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. 

Prayer 

O Lord, our Christ, we thank thee that thou hast called 
us to be thy disciples. We know that we are to learn of thee 
how to live the spiritual life. We confess our ignorance and 
need of being taught. In this physical world our great prob- 
lem is, how to adjust ourselves to live in health and happiness. 
Many perish because they never learn. Thou must be our 
great Teacher. We have hungers this world cannot supply, 
appetites and instincts that crave the unseen. Something 
within us, when we are at our best, cries out for God, the 
living God. We know what it is to suffer from homesick- 
ness of the soul. Our loved ones go out from us and we yearn 
to follow them, to communicate with them, until our hearts 
break with grief. Thou must teach us how to possess our 
souls in patience and to abide in the assurance of a great 
faith that love will not lose its own. 

Help us to understand this world in which we live. Some- 
times its wickedness overwhelms us. It seems a low and 
godless realm that refuses to help men to live at their best, 
but rather encourages them to live as the beast. Its entire 
course seems downward, and at times our own feet seem to 
slip along its way. And yet we know that men find their 
path to God. That this world was made to develop character 
and has a great premium on righteousness we cannot doubt. 
Thou hast taught us the secret of spiritual living, and revealed 



52 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



to us the path of the just, which shineth brighter and brighter 
even unto the perfect day. Teach us to love this world as 
thou didst love it. Not to condemn it, and to distrust it, 
but to regard it, to seek to suffer for it, and to live the 
sacrificial life in it, for thereby we assist thee in redeeming 
it. Hold thou the lamp of thy truth before our eager eyes 
as we study thy Word, Amen, 

Introduction 

In dealing with a sinful soul Jesus became a physician 
facing a problem of diagnosis. A sick soul must be regarded 
as a greater reality than a disease-stricken body. For many 
physical ailments are the result of soul sickness. It is 
vastly important that in such a case the cause of the sick- 
ness be established. To say that it is simply sin is insuffi- 
cient and frequently erroneous. Indeed, in the light of modern 
psychology it is sheer folly. There are many kinds of sins 
that make the soul sick as there are many diseases that prey 
upon the body. The first great responsibility of a physician 
of souls is diagnosis. He must believe in the integrity of the 
soul and the reality of the spiritual life. He must acquaint 
himself with the powers and normal existence of the soul. 
He must study a system of treatment for souls diseased. He 
must familiarize himself with the moods and expressions of 
the soul that he may readily discern its troubles and intuitively 
grasp an immediate treatment. Doubtless this will appear 
as a difficult task. It is a delicate one that is frequently 
bungled. 

In dealing with a sinful woman Jesus found himself con- 
fronted by a situation that only a man of his genius could 
minister unto with any degree of success. Souls when sick 
become exceedingly sensitive. They hide themselves away. 
They shield themselves by pretense and defend themselves 
by prevarication. To gain their confidence and admittance 
to the inner chamber where they dwell in broken and suffer- 
ing form requires an art possessed by few men. However, 
when their fears are allayed, confessions pour forth as the 
natural expression of the soul, as though in its distress that 
were the means by which a kind Providence had intended re- 
lief should come. The confession of a sin-sick soul in the 
beginning broke the heart of God, and for that reason he 



FOR THE SINFUL SOUL 



53 



sent his Son with power to minister and to heal and to re- 
deem men who would place their trust in him. It is with 
this particular ministry that we come to follow Jesus in this 
study. The woman of Samaria bore a soul-sickness that 
made her a social outcast and affords us a subject for the 
study of the evangelism of Jesus as applied to the defective 
type. 

The Defective Type 

There is a type of humanity that abounds so universally 
that it must be carefully defined in order to be understood. 
We shall call it the Defective Type. All men are to a 
greater or less degree defective, either morally, or physically, 
or mentally. The physical defective must be dealt with by 
surgery, medicine, and charity. The mental defective must 
be studied by the psychologist and given his classification by 
the alienist. The moral defective may be a problem for 
state and church, a subject of correction and spiritual regen- 
eration. In this field lies the most serious interest. Moral 
defect may be congenital. It may be produced. It indicates 
a lack of moral certainty and poise. By nature it may be a 
flaw in the personality itself. Such a man cannot see straight 
morally, cannot make fine ethical distinctions, cannot inwardly 
respond to high appeal. However, in few, if in any, cases 
are the elemental spiritual instincts wanting. They require 
stronger moral stimuli to call them into action and a miracle 
of regeneration to bring them into recognition and control. 

In the matter of moral defects, produced by a man's 
careless living or intellectual miscalculation, there is a wide 
range for study. The Holy Scriptures would gather them up 
under one classification and characterize them as sin. How- 
ever, Jesus in dealing with them individually always made 
a distinction, as though he accepted the dictum, "There are 
sinners, and there are sinners." Individual men are sinners 
in their own way, and they cannot be wholesaled either into 
perdition or into the redeemed life. Jesus dealt with them 
according to the type wherein they were most easily classified ; 
but his own intuitive judgment led him to diagnose each in- 
dividual case according to the extent and character of moral 
and spiritual defect. In every instance his treatment is simple, 
and seems always varied to the limit of inexact form. 



54 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



The Moral Approach 

In seeking an approach to a sick soul it must always be 
ascertained whether the ailment is dispositional or physical. 
Sometimes the trouble may be only of the disposition, and will 
readily lend itself to correction; but if it has gone on until 
it has caused physical lesion of some kind, then the task is 
most difficult. In all cases where the soul-sickness has a 
physical basis the means of approach must be that which 
will reach the moral conscience. The approach of the moral 
judgment and the moral will in every such case will fail. The 
conscience seeks to control what a man places into action. 
It, if obeyed, determines the quality of a man's action, the 
moral judgment of what he thinks, and the moral will of 
what he executes under pressure of a great decision. When 
a soul goes wrong, falls and brings upon itself the suffer- 
ing of a violated conscience, there is but one approach by 
which it can be reached. That must be regarded as the way 
over which the consciousness of sin is produced. It is the 
moral approach because it seeks to bring the soul to a will- 
ingness to lay the moral emphasis on the life; that is, to ac- 
centuate the sense of right and wrong and exercise the will 
in drawing the line definitely between that which the con- 
science condemns and that which it approves. However, when 
this process begins to operate on a soul there appears re- 
sistance and great agitation. Suffering from the wounds con- 
science has made it seeks to conceal itself, justify its action, 
and repudiate its past. When lured out of its inner shrine 
and confidently led to betray itself, the first consciousness it 
has speaks forth in the words, "Come, see a man which 
told me all things that ever I did; is not that the Christ?" 
Over the moral approach the place where a man's life has 
broken with his past is reached and the entire life passes under 
the process of redemption. 

Initial Evangelism 

It is fundamental that we should understand initial evan- 
gelism. It deals with the beginnings of evangelistic pro- 
cedure. It leads us to inquire as to the first stages of 
evangelism. Where does it commence? What is it at the 
last analysis? Where are the lowest levels of its opera- 



FOR THE SINFUL SOUL 



55 



tions? Can its ramifications be traced back to a fundamental? 
In its inextricable complexity can it be reduced to a sim- 
plicity? What is the initiatory degree from which the full 
operation of Jesus's evangelism manifests itself? What type 
of men require initial evangelism? In essential evangelism 
the fundamentals of the content of a teaching or a doctrine 
are presented. In initial evangelism not thought, but action 
is presented. It calls for the first step. It produces reaction 
to the spiritual command, "About face." It deals with that 
act which turns the life and faces it the right way. It calls 
into action the will, producing that experience in the soul 
known as conversion. 

With the morally defective type initial methods are the 
only effective ones, for the following reasons : 

First. They go back to the beginning and start a man on 
another way of living. 

Second. They apply to the course of a man's doing rather 
than to his thinking. 

Third. They articulate a man's past with his present and 
predict his future, producing a unity of feeling without which 
a man cannot find God. 

Fourth. They establish a connection with Christ's trans- 
forming power and send the individual forward with newly 
discovered moral energy. 

A thorough application of the methods of initial evan- 
gelism guarantees that the individual soul starts his Chris- 
tian life at the right place. It also brings the assurance 
that the soul, once securely on the way of Christ, finds a 
peace and joy, an abundance of life, and a source of abound- 
ing spiritual energy that enables faith to bear it up under the 
most violent attacks of doubt and adversity. Initial evan- 
gelism brings a man into the Kingdom of heaven, from the 
wilds of sin, through the strait gate which marks the place 
of separation between his past life and that which he is 
destined to live in and with Christ. 

Initial evangelism is confined to the moral approach. Of 
all advances made upon the soul this is the most direct. It 
raises intellectual questions only as they are related to action. 
It does not seek to produce states of mind but of heart. Its 
purpose is to lead to the capture of the citadel of the affec- 
tions. It works upon the understanding that moral impres- 
sions survive only as they are accentuated with definiteness. 



56 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



That they must be more than thought, they must become 
experience, for it is the nature of thought to be static; it is 
that of experience to be dynamic. At the last analysis, it is 
avowed, the initial step in the evangelism of Jesus is a 
moment when there is a surrender of will, a renunciation 
without reserve of what has been cherished and valued, issu- 
ing into an habitual and joyous self-denial. For there is an 
experience without which no man can be a Christian. There 
is an hour of awakening in which the spiritual world becomes 
a supreme reality. The moral approach produces that hour. 
Here the method is not slack, but stringent; delicate, but 
always courageous. It awakens the soul by creating feeling. 
It antagonizes and soothes ; it encroaches and ambuscades. 
It forces a surrender by the inexorable alternative — Christ or 
Despair. 

The Conversion of the Woman of Samaria 

In dealing with the woman of Samaria, Jesus used the 
methods of initial evangelism. She was a woman rated as a 
typical sinner. Iniquity had made her a social and religious 
outcast. She was unlike Nathanael in that her inner life 
had been reduced almost to the point of extinction. She 
had forgotten the places of prayer and meditation. They 
were to her a hazy memory. She had forsaken the ties 
that bound her to her father's family. She was a moral 
derelict. She was also of an opposite type from Nicodemus. 
She could not speak for her group, for her kind, for her 
class. She could not voice a note of authority, nor speak of 
any associated life until Jesus touched her. The only expres- 
sion she could make was that of her prejudices and ill feeling. 
She stood apart and alone, without any perceptible affiliations 
aside from those who were companions with her in sin. 
Nicodemus valued his birth and position; these were as 
naught to her. Family name and good heredity had small 
place in her thought. Her life of moral carelessness had 
robbed her of her social rating. She was an outcast and 
valueless. 

She needed to have four things done for her : 
First. She had divorced her past, no longer recalled it. 
She must realize it as an indispensable part of her life. For 
Christian salvation demands that a man shall accept his past, 



FOR THE SINFUL SOUL 



57 



and with it, through faith in Christ, build an upright charac- 
ter. For men and women, to be able to see where they are 
going they must realize from whence they came. 

Second. She must be brought to revalue her relation to the 
social and religious groups. An unrelated individual cannot 
enjoy the favor of Christian fellowship. There are groups 
of devotion and prayer which are of incalculable value. There 
are lines of birth and ancestry that relate individuals to a 
definite past, and furnish supports for the future which are 
indispensable to moral and intellectual integrity. 

Third. She must be brought to ground her faith in the 
spiritual hope of Israel. On this rested the foundation of 
the religious life of her people. She must be brought back 
to it and upon it begin the building of her future life. 

Fourth. She must be brought to realize that hope in Jesus 
of Nazareth. 

Only a Man of Delicate Sensibilities could have crossed 
the distance that separated the soul of the woman of 
Samaria from the Hope of Israel. As a wrongdoer, moral 
sensitiveness was keen and combative. Four almost insur- 
mountable prejudices surrounded her, which Jesus overcame: 

First. As a woman, he met the barrier of sex prejudice. 
He could not without difficulty, as a stranger, speak to her 
in a public place. 

Second. As a Samaritan woman, he met the wall of race 
prejudice. He could not approach her with any greeting, 
for the Jews had nothing to do with their Samaritan cousins. 
He could not with propriety even speak to her. To ask a 
favor was an offense. 

Third. As a poor woman, he met the distance of social 
prejudice. It was a matter of condescension for a self- 
respecting man to stoop to speak to a woman without social 
rating and moral value. She would resent it perchance as 
an insult. 

Fourth. As a fallen woman, he met deep and ingrained 
moral prejudice. When men and women are in wickedness, 
they think other people are seeking the same thing as them- 
selves. The pure seek their kind, and the same thing may be 
said of the impure. It is a delicate and perilous thing for 
a good man to approach a fallen woman even with good 
intentions. Moral prejudice is sensitive and recalcitrant, fre- 



58 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



quently causing trouble where only good should appear. It 
is too often supported by a narrow religious prejudice that 
fears and dreads in the spirit of the Pharisee, who thanked 
God that he was not as other men are. 

In seeking to surmount these four prejudices, Jesus dis- 
plays a knowledge of the soul seldom possessed by men. 

He overcame sex prejudice by approaching her with a 
human frankness, and not turning his back on her, refusing 
to speak because she was a strange woman. Social formality 
on some levels of life is resented with bitterness. Confidence, 
openness, broadmindedness always are welcomed. They are 
human. Jesus spoke to her though a stranger. 

Before his need race prejudice vanished. He asked her, 
a Samaritan woman, to do him a kindness, give him to drink. 
It had been the habit of a, Samaritan when a Jerusalem Jew 
asked bread to give him a stone. Hence, few favors were 
expected. He asked a cup of water, threw aside any preju- 
dice he might have had, and found a ready response from 
her. 

He entered into conversation with her and banished social 
prejudice. He was willing to show her consideration. 
Socially she might have been different, but she was a human 
being. She knew the pangs of hunger and the enjoyment of 
friendship. She would not permit her prejudice to close her 
heart against anyone who was frank and kind in word. Her 
retort, "How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of 
me, which am a woman of Samaria?" That was sensitive 
and ingrained prejudice, but it was frank, and free from 
deceit. It revealed the very inner chamber of her heart. All 
Jesus wanted was a heart opening. He knew how to gain 
entrance. 

Still another prejudice remained — that of morality and reli- 
gion. The heart-door stood ajar. A woman's heart is always 
responsive to curiosity. He touches that instinct, "If thou 
knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, 
Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked him, and he 
would have given thee living water." That was sufficient. 
The hurt of sin had been exceedingly painful, but this deal- 
ing of sympathy won its way. The woman's prejudices were 
gone, and she was ready to listen to him with profound 
sympathy. 

While Jesus was gaining her attention, he was also making 



FOR THE SINFUL SOUL 



59 



his approach into her heart. This was accomplished by three 
direct appeals : 

First. An appeal to her sense of God — "If thou knewest 
the gift of God." The value of this appeal in dealing with 
men and women in sin should be regarded as fundamental. 
The moral sense of God is ineradicable. It will arrest atten- 
tion, quiet combativeness, and start the higher impulses 
quicker than any other appeal. The soul in sin loses its 
power to react to all other moral values, but never to the 
thought of God. 

Second. An appeal to her sense of mystery — "If thou knew- 
est who ... it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink." 
The mystery of the Man speaking aroused that strange power 
in her soul called wonder. This spreads like a warm atmos- 
phere through the nature, dispelling all coldness. 

Third. An appeal to an inner impulse. — "Thou wouldest 
have asked of him, and he would have given thee living 
water" — an impulse to experience the drinking of a new 
water. Truth is of small value to the soul unless with it can 
be aroused an impulse to experience it. 

Jesus was a master psychologist, as though he read at first 
hand the directions to the inner shrine of a human soul. 
The water in Jacob's Well was valued by all the people of 
the land. It was one of the sacred show places. Blessed 
was he who had drunken of its waters. Jesus held up in 
contrast his wonder water. He characterized it as living 
water. It produced four unique effects in those who drank 
it: 

First. It slakes the thirst so that one drinking it never 
thirsts again. Wonder of wonders to people living in a 
country where water supply is short and uncertain! 

Second. It is an inner well. Strange mystery! Mystical 
fact wrought in a sense of reality! Wonder water that only 
the camel of the desert can appreciate. 

Third. An inner well of water, springing up, maintaining 
an inner freshness of life, for which all sensible men pray. 

Fourth. An inner life of freshness, which expresses itself 
in outer, immortal youth — "springing up into everlasting 
life." 

This was surely enough to stir the woman's thirst for a 
water Jacob's Well could not give, and for a life that did not 
come from his line. She is ready to receive what Jesus has 



6o THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



to give. "Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither 
come hither to draw." Having reached the inner circle of 
her being, Jesus now has opportunity to touch the sin that 
has caused her alienation from God. He may now safely 
command her to obey him in a matter for further informa- 
tion. He saith unto her, "Go, call thy husband, and come 
hither." For when one meets Christ, the entire life must 
be brought up, the past as well as the absent present. In the 
thought of a husband rested a darkness she did not care 
to reveal. She answered, shortly, "I have no husband," no 
doubt thinking that would end it. But Jesus, with keen insight 
replied, "Thou hast well said, I have no husband: for thou 
hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not 
thy husband." The realities of the woman's life were laid 
bare. They were facts of shame, from which she shrank 
with a consciousness of weakness and condemnation. She 
recovers through the feeling that he, a stranger, could not 
know them without being a prophet. She answers, "Sir, 
I perceive that thou art a prophet." And introduces a sub- 
ject for discussion. "Our fathers worshiped in this moun- 
tain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men 
ought to worship." With Nicodemus, the subject for discus- 
sion was the new birth ; with the woman of Samaria it is the 
place of worship. To a Samaritan no question could be more 
worthy of a prophet's decision than the settlement of the 
religious center of the world. Thus the difficulty which is 
proposed is not a diversion, but the natural thought of one 
brought face to face with the Interpreter of the divine will. 
It led away from personal consideration. It drew her in 
line with the fathers, and expressed a realization of the race 
consciousness that would loose the individual and his need 
to further consideration. When Jesus answered, he uses 
"Father" as over against her word "fathers," and brings the 
thought back to the individualistic level. "Woman, believe 
me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, 
nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father." Then he launches 
into a discussion of worship that carries her beyond her 
intellectual depths. He eliminates the disputed question of 
worship, but emphasizes the fact that "salvation is of the 
Jews," and assures her that the "true worshipers shall wor- 
ship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh 
such to worship him." 



FOR THE SINFUL SOUL 



61 



Then, passing from the idea of worship to that of God, 
he declares : "God is a Spirit : and they that worship him 
must worship him in spirit and in truth." The woman is 
bewildered, cannot follow him further, and throws herself 
back on the hope of her people, "I know that Messias cometh, 
which is called Christ : when he is come, he will tell us all 
things." That was the goal toward which Jesus had been 
moving. They had arrived. Her heart was open. Hope 
ready to welcome, faith waiting to receive. He replied, "I 
that speak unto thee am he." The surprise, the confession 
of faith, the joy of the woman's heart are lost to the reader; 
for at this point the disciples arrive from their visit to the 
city to purchase provisions. The woman departs with this 
resolve, to bid the people "Come, see a man, which told me 
all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" She had 
found Him "of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, 
did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." And with 
Nathanael she could say, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; 
thou art the King of Israel." 

In Jesus's dealing with this woman of sin there are at least 
three things that must be dwelt upon: 

1. He does not mention sin. He makes no effort to trace 
it down and condemn it. He simply opens the life, knowing 
that when the higher instincts are released they will furnish 
motive for conscience to do its work of condemnation and 
correction. 

2. He does not offer God's plan for dealing with sinful 
souls. Why did he not mention the doctrine of the new 
birth? If any one with whom he had to deal needed to be 
born from above she was that one. Upon thought the answer 
is obvious. He could not talk to her about the new birth : 
First, because the family meant nothing to her. Second, be- 
cause it was along the line of the family that lay her great 
offense. She had blasted the purpose of the family. She 
had misused the birth function until it had no high mean- 
ing for her. The holiest thing in a woman's life is power 
to give life. The love of one man makes the birth of a child 
a function presided over by Deity, and the one cherished as 
of the most precious value. But for her the conception of 
birth carried no spiritual content. Jesus could not lead her 
to realize the Gospel of the Kingdom through the doctrine 
of the new birth. 



62 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



3. He brings the woman where he can reveal to her the 
fulfillment of the hope of Israel — the promised Messiah. In 
doing this his evangelistic method supports the statement that 
Christ the Messiah is central in all evangelistic effort. No 
matter what other interests may arise, or doctrine demand 
discussion; no matter how far distant the soul may be — the 
way upward is not struck until Christ is reached. He 
occupies a unique centrality, past which all souls must go 
on their quest of God the Father. It is based on a previously 
stated truth, that He is the expression of the emotional life 
of a personal God. He is the Divine, manifesting himself 
as mercy and love. The full measure of his life is found in 
the words, "God so loved. ,, In this respect he is Deity. There 
was a cause for this manifestation of Holy love. It must 
have been more than that which would demand affection. 
It was a necessity, that required action, vigorous, full expres- 
sion of itself, love for an object that would perish without it. 
That condition was a state of sin into which the sons of men 
had passed, and from which they must be saved by a quicken- 
ing of faith in God. Christ came in Jesus of Nazareth, that 
men might have a manifestation of the heavenly Father. 
Without that manifestation they have nothing on which 
to place their faith. Christ, then, was manifest to requicken 
the lost power of faith. It is the means of salvation, not 
because all others have failed, but because it is the only one 
and never fails. It brings this assurance, that he who, on 
account of his sins, cannot render unto God the full obedience 
of faith, is by what faith he has identified with Christ, who 
is the righteousness of God for sinful men, and he receives 
through this identification the increasing power of sonship. 
With the woman of Samaria we come to stand at the same 
place as with Nathanael and Nicodemus — Christ, the mani- 
festation of God, without the higher life of Sonship, finds no 
human realization. There is no Divine sonship for man apart 
from faith in Jesus Christ. 

Jesus, in His Evangelistic Approach, works upon a clearly 
defined conception of sin. To him there were degrees of 
distance from God, but all men were more or less alienated 
from him by wrongdoing. In dealing with the woman of 
Samaria he had almost unsurmountable barriers to overcome. 
The course of action he adopted was simple, and his direct 



FOR THE SINFUL SOUL 



63 



dealing has been the wonder of men from that day to this. 
How did he seem to conceive of men as being in sin? He 
made two classifications. To him men were either good or 
bad. He knew no medium ground where a man was morally 
colorless. To him sin was not a matter of degrees. It was 
a disease. He likened it unto leprosy. A man is a leper if he 
has one germ of that dread disease in his blood. It is not a 
matter of the extent to which it has worked its ravages. Some 
men are so morally inactive, so void of positiveness, so poised 
in self-control, so hedged about by respectability, so eminently 
self-contained that they seem a problem of classification. They 
appear to be neither good nor bad. They are not righteous, 
neither are they iniquitous. They are not good enough for 
heaven, neither are they bad enough for hell. The modern 
man is prone to make a third classification for these men, 
and claim for them some kind of a special judgment at the 
end. 

It is well for us to remember that there are three kinds 
of sinners, and that all must be saved through faith in Jesus 
Christ : 

First. Sinners of the passions and appetites of the flesh. 
Among these should be classed the woman of Samaria. We 
have no difficulty in dealing with those of this color. We 
can quickly dispose of them. Drunkards, and harlots, and 
adulterers, and gluttons, and winebibbers easily find their 
classification. Without hesitancy we call them sinners, who 
need to be saved by faith in Christ. There can be no room 
for doubt here. 

Second. Sinners of disposition. Among these Nicodemus 
finds his place. He was a man of pride and personal ex- 
clusiveness. He was set about by race and religious preju- 
dices, all based on the inner consciousness that he was of 
the ruling class of Israel. A dispositional sinner may be free 
from all perceptible sins of the flesh. He may walk cir- 
cumspectly before men. He may be as upright as society 
requires of its most trusted citizens, but on his dispositional 
side all wrong. He is cross and violent at times, showing 
what is in him when he loses control of himself. He is hard 
and pharisaical in dealing with his brothers, but he never 
becomes drunken and shocks his neighbor's moral sense. He 
never consorts with harlots and vicious men. And yet he 
is a sinner who needs Christ to save him from bigotry, 



64 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



hardness, and a godless life just as much as some outbreak- 
ing sinner who disturbs the community with his wrongdoing. 

Third. The mystical sinners. Among these may be classi- 
fied Nathanael, the guileless one of the fig tree. These men, 
as far as personal morals are concerned, are flawless. They 
are without sin. They pray. They meditate. They shut 
themselves up to spiritual experiences. They claim great 
moments with God. They have a wonderful testimony of his 
revelation of himself to them. They become other-worldly. 
The}/- come not to love the world nor the things of the world. 
They know not of its wickedness, neither of its sorrow. 
They go their way, inwardly rejoicing that they are not as 
other men are, and their guilelessness becomes their condem- 
nation; for a man reaches the holiness that pleases the God 
of our Lord Jesus Christ not by guilelessness alone, but by a 
life that renounces its past and goes forth into a field of action 
and ministry. How would Nathanael have fared on that 
way v/ith his religion of meditation? The royal way of the 
cross, the way that Jesus trod, is the only one that leads man 
home to God. He fell on that way thrice beneath the burden 
of his cross. He continued unto the end, and drank the dregs 
of the cup of bitterness. It was the way of Him who said, 
"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and 
take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save 
his life shall lose it : and whosoever will lose his life for my 
sake shall find it." 

It Is the Purpose of Initial Evangelism to start every 
soul at the right place. The failure of Samaritan religion, 
as this woman at the well of Jacob seemed to understand it, 
was at four points : 

First. It was provincial. It provided for the Samaritans' 
wants. Kept them in mind in all operations of Providence. 

Second. It was hedged about by prejudice. We have noth- 
ing to do with the Jerusalem Jews. If Jehovah is to be our 
God, he must come to us. We will not go to Jerusalem. 

Third. It located God — "worshiped in this mountain" : as 
those who say God is in a prayer book, in a certain particular 
kind of offering, in this creed, in this phylactery, in this kind 
of an experience, in this church, in this denomination, in this 
nation. This is Samaritan religion. 

Fourth. It had no objective element. The question of wor- 



FOR THE SINFUL SOUL 65 

ship was its large problem for the prophets to pronounce 
upon. The most outstanding impression Jesus of Nazareth 
made on the woman of Samaria, indeed, the one that con- 
vinced her that he was the Christ, was the fact that he told 
her all that she ever did. 

Christianity is a religion of doing. It demands for itself 
a place to begin. Its starting is not hazy and indefinite. It 
requires the open world for its realization. When men hear 
of a religion based upon faith they prepare to give it room 
to work its way out in human relations. For faith controlling 
a man presupposes ability to seize opportunity for achieve- 
ment, before which others are impotent. 

QUESTIONS FOR CLASS STUDY 

1. What is a defective type? 

2. What is a moral approach? 

3. Characterize initial evangelism. 

4. What four things did the woman of Samaria need to 
have done for her? 

5. What four prejudices stood between the woman and 
Jesus? Flow did he overcome them? 

6. What three direct appeals did Jesus make to her? 

7. Characterize the "living water" of Jesus. 

8. In Jesus's dealing with the woman, what three things 
must not be forgotten? 

9. Why did Jesus fail to give this woman the truth of the 
new birth? 

10. Name the three kinds of sinners? 

11. What was Jesus's conception of sin? 

12. Where does initial evangelism begin? 

13. How near did Jesus bring this woman to discipleship? 

14. What was the deepest impression Jesus made upon her? 

15. What did the woman of Samaria find in Jesus of 
Nazareth ? 



The foes of Christianity, seeing only the restraints and 
restrictions imposed on the individual, seeing only in the 
teaching of Christ the antithesis of their ideal of boundless 
individual expansion, have entirely neglected to take into 
account the social significance of such restrictions. We must 
never neglect to consider the double aspect of Christianity 
as an instrument at once of social and of individual develop- 
ment. We must not neglect to consider the rights and duties 
recognized by Christianity as appertaining alike to society 
and to the individual. Only when we consider it as realizing 
an equilibrium between social and individual interests can 
we hope to judge rightly of its value. — Chatterton-Hill. 



CHAPTER IV 



For the Importunate Soul 

The Afflicted Type 

The Physical Approach 

Collective Evangelism 

The Conversion o£ Blind Bartimaeus 

Scripture: Mark 10. 46-52 

And they came to Jericho : and as he went out of Jericho 
with his disciples and a great number of people, blind 
Bartimseus, the son of Timseus, sat by the highway side beg- 
ging. 

And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began 
to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy 
on me. 

And many charged him that he should hold his peace : but 
he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have 
mercy on me. 

And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. 
And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good 
comfort, rise; he calleth thee. 

And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. 

And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou 
that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, 
Lord, that I might receive my sight. 

And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made 
thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and 
followed Jesus in the way. 

Prayer 

We thank thee, O Lord, that thou dost hear the prayer 
of a sincere and upright heart. We know that when we 
come to thee, earnestly seeking thy forgiveness and the 
strengthening of our moral purpose, thou wilt not fail to 

69 



70 



THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



attend unto the voice of our prayer. We rejoice in this 
assurance. It gives us boldness to enter into thy presence and 
to ask for those things needful to make us more like Christ. 
We do not always possess a fullness of the spirit of devo- 
tion. At times we pray with our lips, repeating words that 
carry little meaning and no desire of soul on our part. Our 
hearts fail to respond to the call of the Spirit. They are 
listless, cold, and turn toward other things. In such an hour 
thou hast taught us that the heart does not control, but 
rather the will. Then we call resolution to command our 
souls to worship thee, and sincerely come into thy presence 
with a perceptible desire for thee, knowing that thou dost 
love and accept those who command themselves for thee. 

We confess our devotion does not depend upon mood or 
sentiment. We will to do thy will, for thou hast given us 
power of self-direction and self-control. We would hesitate 
to acknowledge that our love for thee rested on emotion and 
sentiment; these are but expressions of our regard for that 
which is thine. Moreover, we are such creatures of feeling 
that our physical moods often rest upon us like heavy 
burdens. They bear down upon the spirit until we are com- 
pelled to cry aloud unto thee as though thou didst not hear 
us. We thank thee that for such an hour thou hast given us 
the prayer of importunity, that will not be discouraged, that 
gathers force, that cries out, "I will not let thee go till thou 
dost bless me." Wilt thou further teach us the secrets of 
the spiritual life, and in this hour direct our thought along 
the paths of truth that lead to Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

Introduction 

The previous incidents in the life of our Lord, studied for 
their evangelistic content, present three persons seeking intel- 
lectual enlightenment as an answer for their soul-hunger. He 
impressed each one of them differently, and yet brought them 
back to confession of himself as the Son of God, the Messiah 
of Israel. He made a distinct impression on each one: the 
first, a spiritual ; the second, an intellectual ; the third, a moral 
impression. Through these the soul was touched and the 
great truth of God in Christ became a reality. In this chap- 
ter Jesus will be seen approaching the soul through a physical 
impression. It is a case of crucial evangelism as related to 



FOR THE IMPORTUNATE SOUL 71 



the individual and collective evangelism as to demonstration 
of method. 

The Afflicted Type 

There has always been a class of men who may be called 
the afflicted type. They are incapacitated by physical affliction. 
Most men are at times members of this group, for afflictions 
overtake each of us before our life's journey is ended. We 
must be prepared to understand why it is so. Our faith 
must be ready not only to support but direct through such ex- 
periences. However, the afflicted type is the one presenting an 
age-long problem. Why do we have physical deformities and 
infirmities? This has been a question of moral philosophy and 
theology since man began to think about himself and God. 
The students of physiology in producing the science of 
human anatomy have contributed much toward a solution of 
the problem. Physical afflictions have been accounted for 
within the physical life, some as malformation, some as 
congenital defeat, and some as hereditary predisposition. The 
Christian thinker may stand near and ask, "Why are men 
so afflicted if there is a wise and beneficent God?" The an- 
swer has always been, "Neglect or willful violation of God's 
natural and spiritual law." He has not been able to deter- 
mine where responsibility rests, neither the degree of cul- 
pability. Sometimes the words of Christ confront him with 
an inscrutable situation, "Neither hath this man sinned, nor 
his parents," as though there were times when it is unfilial 
to raise the question. For it is a fundamental of the Chris- 
tian faith that disease and suffering may find their origin 
apart from moral conduct. Natural science has produced the 
germ theory of disease and answered an age-long question. 
Some afflictions do come from sinning against God's laws. 
However, let us not forget it, as many do. What then is God 
going to do with affliction in his universe? Has he a remedy? 
Is it permanent or subject to alleviation and final elimination? 
Must the afflicted type remain to mar and destroy his creation, 
which he said at the beginning was altogether good? Rather, 
it affords a continuous opportunity for him to work with 
remedial methods the perfection of his handiwork. Indeed, 
we are driven to receive this as a part of our faith if we 
believe in the Fatherhood of God. He is here working 



72 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



with the breakdown of his children. He has a ministry of 
healing and restoration going on without interruption. If 
not, then our faith is in vain and our hope a deceit and a 
rebuke. 

The Physical Approach 

The easiest way to reach the soul of a man afflicted by any 
disease or infirmity is that of the physical approach. The 
habit of Jesus was to preach and at the same time heal. He 
understood that a ministry of physical healing opened the 
way for a spiritual ministry that could be gained by no other 
method. It was also his faith that man dwells in a body 
which is so intimately identified with his soul-life that it 
must be taken into account in all spiritual dealing. His 
example should teach us that the human body, not less than 
the human soul, is God's creature, therefore in itself good. 
To it evil is an accident, an incident. It is capable of being 
delivered from many afflictions, which do so easily beset it. 
Indeed, Jesus exalts the body in which we dwell, and leads 
us to believe it is destined to give form to that incorruptible 
and glorified body to be raised in the last day beyond the 
reach of disease and death. In fact, it is with this thought 
in mind that all our modern ministries are supported. The 
constantly increasing fight of organized Christianity for 
the alleviation of physical suffering, whether of poverty or 
disease, is based upon our faith in the redemption of the 
body as well as that of the soul. This is a distinctively 
Christian idea, and must be given a proper place in thought. 
The attitude of the Christian religion toward the material 
side of man stands in strange contrast with that of pagan- 
ism, which looked upon the body as sinful and altogether 
evil. Jesus made his ministry of healing a parable of the 
spiritual life. Each one led to some truth about the soul. 
Indeed, none but those who are dull of understanding 
could imagine that their Benefactor meant them to go home 
and enjoy their restored health without a thought of any- 
thing higher. It is altogether within the range of probability 
that the majority of those Jesus healed entered into the new 
life, for somehow he impressed them that physical healing 
was not an end in itself, but a summons to moral recon- 
struction. 



FOR THE IMPORTUNATE SOUL 73 



The physical approach used by Jesus in the story of blind 
Bartimseus led at once to a spiritual ministry, in which the 
man walking in darkness became a follower in the way and 
a witness of his healing power. 

Collective Evangelism 

There is a familiar form of evangelism which moves men 
en masse. It is popular because it appeals to man's group 
instincts. It may, for convenience, be called collective evan- 
gelism. It has been the most common form of revivalism 
in operation for over two centuries. Indeed, it has not been 
out of use since the day of Pentecost and the time when 
Peter baptized Cornelius at Csesarea, and later received on 
confession the rest of his household as members of the 
Christian faith. It has received the sanction of the church 
because in it has been manifest the leadership of the Holy 
Spirit. In it was born the Protestant Reformation under 
Luther, and every great religious movement since. It origi- 
nates in an accentuation of evangelistic preaching, which 
directs its appeal to men not as individuals, but in mass. It 
utilizes the methods of indirection, releases spiritual power, 
creates an atmosphere that pervades the mental life of the 
community, until the moral and spiritual emphasis cannot be 
resisted. Conviction for sin comes to rest upon the most 
indifferent, producing violent opposition in some and quick 
surrender in others. This is the most successful method of 
dealing with adult life. Many men would never find Christ, 
and the forgiveness and regeneration he is able to give, but 
for the crisis produced in their lives through the powerful 
preaching of a leader in a collective evangelistic campaign. 
If we search for an explanation of the marvelous working 
of collective evangelism, we will find the human side of it 
in crowd psychology. Experience has taught us that men 
do not to any perceptible degree shape their conduct upon the 
teaching of pure reason. The influence of laws and institu- 
tions and customs is found to be slight upon them, when 
studied in the light of crowd psychology. They seem power- 
less to hold any opinions other than those imposed upon 
them. They are unable to surrender themselves continuously 
to activities based upon theories of pure equity. They must 
be impressed by the will of their group and seduced by the 



74 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



appeals of the opinions of the community. They seem unable 
to undertake independent, individual action. They walk and 
live under the influence of the collective mind. If they are 
to be reached for moral reconstruction and spiritual regen- 
eration, those who approach them must know the operation 
of the psychological law of the mental unity of crowds. 

However, in this evangelistic form lies a constant peril 
to the individual. Men cannot be saved in groups, or masses, 
or crowds, or communities, as Charlemagne inflicted baptism 
on the Saxons. Christian salvation begins with the individ- 
ual by ministering to his infirmities, healing his diseases, and 
making him a new creature in Christ. If, therefore, he joins 
the Christian community and remains the same man he was 
before, he has missed the most vital thing promised men 
through faith in Christ. The first step in the Christian life 
is toward Christ, not toward the company following him. 
He was sent among men to heal their infirmities, to make of 
them new creatures. If among those accompanying him and 
bearing his name is one, unchanged, with a diseased mind 
and an afflicted body, his presence is a reflection rather than 
a witness to Christ's power to heal and save. For New 
Testament salvation is individualistic and then afterward 
socialistic. Each man must meet Christ first with repent- 
ance and acknowledgment of sin, and then through the exer- 
cise of faith accept him as a personal Saviour, who gains 
for him forgiveness and works within him regeneration. 

The Conversion of Blind Bartimaeus 

In the healing and conversion of blind Bartimaeus we have, 
on a small scale, an illustration of peril to the individual, 
of mass enthusiasm working discipleship. Jesus was on his 
way toward Jerusalem. Great crowds of people from the 
Diaspora were joining his company and proclaiming the 
Prophet of Galilee the promised Messiah. A great wave of 
popular enthusiasm was bearing him along for his triumphal 
entrance into the Holy City. Scarcely a man could resist the 
contagion. It was spreading, infectious and powerful. The 
influence of the crowd was overwhelming, and as it sur- 
rounded the Christ, sweeping him along the highway, the 
individual was lost in the collective spirit that prevailed. 
Bartimaeus sat by the wayside begging. In his experience at 



FOR THE IMPORTUNATE SOUL 75 



that moment arose one of the greatest problems with which 
Christianity has to deal in propagating the spiritual life — 
that of first saving the individual and afterward making him 
a part of the crowd. 

In a Great Mass Revival there are always three things 
to be taken into account — the crowd, the preacher and his 
message, and the individual needs. 

The influence of the crowd must be reasoned with. It is 
fundamental, for when religious impulses take hold of groups 
of men they are prone to crush the individual under the 
burden of the mass, the result being the destruction of his 
higher spiritual sensibilities. It has been proven that many reli- 
gious beliefs have a social origin. In pagan lands, as well as 
in the life of primitive man, religion was imposed. The in- 
dividual was forced to accept. He could not resist, no mat- 
ter how opposed he might be, for the collective mentality 
of his tribe forced upon him a religious faith that was born, 
not of any need he might personally feel, but from the 
social necessities. He could not exist outside nor live in- 
dependent of society, therefore he must subordinate himself 
to its demands upon him to become a part of it. A religion 
engendered by nature has no place for individual salvation. 
It says the needs of the larger group come first. For the 
individual to assert himself is unadulterated selfishness and 
highly reprehensible. Considering the good of all, the social 
needs come first. What are these constituent elements of 
society to which all others must be subordinated? The 
sociologist names them, social unity, social cohesion, and 
social integration. In maintaining these religion is an in- 
dispensable influence, in that it restrains individual liberty 
and subordinates him to the interests of the continuity of 
social existence. Obviously, religion centers its power in the 
crowd. It places great and powerful restrictions and re- 
straints on the strongest individual instincts. Among pagan 
peoples a man fails to find his religious faith a source of 
consolation. It is a cause of perpetual anguish, a never- 
ceasing impeachment; a source of endless, irksome restraint; 
a cause of incalculable terror, and constantly produces misery 
and dread. And yet, as a social force, religion is an absolute 
necessity. Men cannot live together in groups without it. 

Here, then, is an irrepresssible conflict. The spiritual 



76 



THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



nature of the individual must be ministered unto. Religion 
should furnish him consolation and comfort. He has need 
of moral regeneration, and a source of power to supply him 
with an unfailing reserve of moral motive. He lives in a 
world of struggle and conflict. He can survive only when his 
spirit finds the hidden sources of reaction against his op- 
position. He is preyed upon by disease and is the subject of 
weariness and worry. He has soul-hungers and elemental 
instincts that make him restless and sick of heart. Religion 
must somehow minister unto him. His needs must be taken 
into account and provided for, else he perish, for the body 
of society is composed of individual elements. When they 
are neglected and remain undeveloped the level of paganism 
prevails. If the individual and social interests are always 
opposed, a religion of divine origin will find a way to recon- 
cile them. It is at this point that the uniqueness of Chris- 
tianity appears. It has proven that while remaining true to 
its fundamental function as a religion, of assuming social 
integration and cohesion, it also becomes a source of un- 
equaled consolation and inspiration for individual distress 
and weakness and stands unrivaled as an influence to main- 
tain hope in the heart, comfort in the soul, and to generate 
power of reaction in the will against the perversity of a harsh 
and merciless world. 

In thinking of religion, as well as the salvation offered 
by Christ, we must not neglect to consider this double aspect 
of Christianity as an instrument of social and individual 
development. Only as we think of our religion in this respect, 
as realizing an equilibrium between social and individual in- 
terests, can we hope to have any appreciable understanding 
of it. 

The evangelistic value of these fundamental truths is found 
in the fact that men as individuals during a great religious 
mass movement become lost in the crowd, surrender to the 
superheated atmosphere then prevailing without becoming 
familiar with the principles and. convictions that dominate 
the group. Men give themselves to the control of the emo- 
tions that pervade a mass revival and remain strangers to 
the fires of its passion. Crowd enthusiasm does not produce 
moral regeneration, neither does it generate the spiritual life. 
A man may join those following Jesus and remain deaf and 
dumb, or maimed and halt and blind. The only surety for 



FOR THE IMPORTUNATE SOUL 77 

the blind man by the wayside is to refuse to heed the crowd, 
push forward to the Christ for his healing, then fall in and 
follow him on the way. 

Bartimseus, the Wayside Beggar, Resisted the Crowd 

and found the Christ who healed him of his blindness. He 
was a representative of that type of manhood needing a 
threefold salvation. 

First. He needed a physical salvation. His blindness 
limited his world of thought and action. He was deprived 
of one of the most indispensable physical senses. All the 
beautiful world of God's creation was unknown to him. The 
enlargement of intellect that comes from acquaintance with 
the faces of men and the expression of their emotions was 
not permitted him. He could not understand the world as 
other men did. His dependence upon others for guidance 
lest he stumble and fall, lest he lose his way, discouraged the 
spirit of independence within him, and made a beggar of 
him, not only by practice, but in heart. 

Second. He needed a social salvation. As a solicitor of 
alms he was a social outcast. He was a nonproducer and 
a liability. He was compelled to live off the labor of others, 
and survive by an appeal to pity. As such he became a men- 
ace to society. He needed to be restored to a position of 
self-support, to social and physical health. As long as he 
remained among the waste products of society any kind of 
religion that he might possess would be valueless. Religion 
means moral circumspection, which in turn demands a social 
rating, and never fails to gain power and place for self-sup- 
port and personal initiative. 

Third. He had need of moral salvation. He was without any 
personal merit because he could in no sense depart from 
himself and live his life for others. He may have been good 
because of lack of opportunity to be wicked. He was 
morally negative, he must be made positive. He had lost 
his power to get on in the world. He sat by the way- 
side, listening to others go by in pursuit of wealth, health, 
and happiness. He was located by the side of the road of 
progress and growth because he could not see. If religion 
had any consolation and help for an individual sorely afflicted, 
blind Bartimseus was the man who sorely needed its offices. 

He had heard of the wonderful healing ministry of Jesus 



78 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



of Nazareth. Rumor had borne to him the reports of the 
leper being healed, of the lame man being restored, of the 
deaf being made to hear and the dumb to speak, of the blind 
being restored to sight. If Jesus of Nazareth ever came his 
way, he would have his chance. That day came. He sat by 
the wayside. The noise of a great company approaching 
came upon his ears. Upon inquiry he learned that Jesus of 
Nazareth, with a large procession of people, was passing. 
He was thrown into a mental crisis. It was his crucial hour, 
an opportunity which if not seized at once would be lost. 
How could he reach Jesus through the multitude? Would 
he dare stir that group unity? Could he disturb the cohesion 
of the procession and embarrass its progress? He rose to 
his feet and cried out mightily, "Jesus, thou son of David, 
have mercy upon me." Then appeared the influence of the 
crowd. His interests seemed at once in conflict with those of 
the great company. It sought to suppress him. Why should 
he thrust his own selfish demands upon the hero of that hour? 
Why should he break the unity and continuity of the en- 
thusiasm that bore the mass of people along to Jerusalem? 
Only one individual counted at that moment. He was Jesus 
of Nazareth. Many charged the blind man to hold his peace. 
He was in bad form. He was out of order. He could have 
joined the crowd, lost himself in its enthusiasm, followed 
in the way, participated in the glad acclaim of the new 
Prophet, and have caused no trouble. But he needed to see 
Jesus himself. He must have his eyes restored. Resisting 
the will of the crowd, he cried "the more a great deal, Thou 
son of David, have mercy on me." It was a moment of 
desperation. The impulses of the crowd opposed him. They 
demanded that he fall in and quietly follow in the way. 
But his blindness was his great need. He must see Jesus 
or walk in darkness the rest of his life. Would he in his 
blindness join the crowd or the Christ? The more they 
charged him to hold his peace the more he cried out, 'Thou 
son of David, have mercy on me." It was Jesus the man 
wanted, not the crowd. He compelled attention. "Jesus 
stood still, and commanded him to be called." Then they 
beckoned the blind man, trying to quiet him, saying, "Be 
of good comfort, rise; he calleth for thee." Then, with 
remarkable dramatic action, "he, casting away his garment, 
rose, and came to Jesus." The individual and Jesus met. 



FOR THE IMPORTUNATE SOUL 79 



Affliction was brought to the Physician, and blindness to the 
Great Oculist. With wonderful compassion Jesus inquired, 
"What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?" The blind 
man answered in pathetic submission, "Lord, that I might 
receive my sight." He had resisted the crowd and found 
the Christ, who replied, "Go thy way; thy faith hath made 
thee whole." And "immediately he received his sight, and 
followed Jesus in the way." On his march with the great 
company of people to Jerusalem, Jesus had become the 
Christ to him. He had met Jesus personally and the Lord 
had done something for him. He had answered his one 
great need. He had experienced a transformation in his life 
that was at once a miracle and attestation of the super- 
natural power of Jesus the prophet of Galilee. The en- 
thusiasm of the crowd was his because he had evidence in 
his own life that made him glad and released him into a 
new world. What if he had obeyed the voice of the multi- 
tude rather than his impulse to seek Jesus for personal 
healing? 

Two Final Questions. — Two important questions face the 
student of this incident : First, How far can a blind man fol- 
low Jesus and continue to be blind? that is, How far can a 
man seem to follow Christ without being rid of the sins and 
infirmities which he came to relieve? Second, How is an 
individual after personally finding Christ going to adjust 
himself to live his spiritual life within the group life of 
Church membership? For no man follows Christ alone. 
There is no lovers' lane over which a man may go alone with 
those he holds in his heart. He must join the company of 
those following Jesus to the heavenly city, and be a witness 
to what has been done for him. 

The healing ministry of Jesus of Nazareth came first in 
his dealing with many men. It was, however, always second- 
ary; a means to an end. This fact must not be overlooked 
by his followers, for in so doing they will lose one of the 
strongest and most indispensable elements of his teaching 
and ministry. If he healed the body when on earth, how far 
should our faith follow him to-day? Let us state this in 
two propositions : First, the Christian conception of the body 
includes it in the process of redemption. What do we mean 
by this? Christianity teaches that the house in which the 



8o THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



soul dwells is not of itself evil. The character of the in- 
dweller determines that. Therefore, religion as taught by 
Christ and operated by the Holy Spirit coming into a man's 
life carries a dynamic that affects his body as well as his 
soul. It is not difficult for a modern student of psychology 
to see this. In the light of physiology he has learned that 
his physical life is dependent upon nerve ganglia, that his 
body is a network set frequently with nerve centers which 
respond to and are controlled by thought impulses. Indeed, 
they are recognized as psychical centers, where a mental direc- 
tion is transformed into action, and from which physical 
impulses become psychic impressions that are later trans- 
formed into thought. He also has learned that his thought 
life counts more with him than the kind of food he eats 
and the water he drinks. He has discovered within him a 
system of health protectors, in the form of closely associated 
glands, producing anti-toxins of so perfect a drug quality 
that they can be artificially manufactured. These little drug 
manufacturing concerns distributed along the alimentary 
canal are under the control of the third sympathetic nervous 
system, centering in the solar plexus, or, as the psychologist 
now calls it, the abdominal brain. This brain center is directly 
connected with the cranial or thought brain, where its control 
is finally lodged. When the thinking brain is slow and moody, 
blue, despondent, full of doubt and uncertainty, all the system 
that has the work of the elimination of the toxins of the 
body, slows down, and fatigue begins its work of casting 
weariness throughout the physical man. Speed up the thought 
life with anticipation, good cheer, faith, and assurance, and 
health begins to appear, hastening toward abundance. On 
this physical basis rests the cause for most, if not all, faith 
healing. God has made it so. A psychic being with delicate 
channels to carry psychic forces into all parts of the anatomy, 
proving that man is not a body, but, rather, a soul, dwelling 
and fitting into a body so that it cannot be extricated from 
it without the destruction of the visible life. What, then, 
can produce the psychic impulse of healing and health, moral 
transformation and spiritual regeneration? It is altogether 
within the realm of the understanding when the relation of 
the body to the mind through the function of the third 
sympathetic nervous system and the abdominal brain is un- 
derstood. It is a physical approach, but nevertheless true. 



FOR THE IMPORTUNATE SOUL 



8 1 



The physical is nothing in itself ; for all its operations some 
stimulant must be found in a man's thought life. What, 
then, is the highest motive, the strongest stimulant? The 
answer is, Religion. In the field of religion where is the 
strongest motive released? Answer again, Love for Christ. 
A continuous affection for him and a persistent desire to 
be like him will produce spiritual or psychic power within 
that will modify man's physical brain, produce new functional 
areas, enlarge old ones, and make him a new creature in 
disposition and native talents. That is the witness not of 
the theologian, but psychologist and scientist. If we have 
Christ's point of view we shall not look upon ourselves as 
prisoners within this physical dwelling, but accept it as an 
organism that can be modified, repaired, or enlarged at the 
owner's desire. The race as it grows older is realizing more 
what Christ meant when he said, "Whatsoever ye desire when 
ye pray believe and ye shall have it." 

Second, the Christian conception of the soul does not teach 
its regeneration apart from the physical life. The Holy 
Scriptures maintain the faith that man is not a body with 
organs functioning in an articulated relation producing his 
life. They declare that man is a soul, that his thinking 
brain is the instrument of him who thinks ; while the body, 
as we have seen, is held together in functioning life by a 
psychic animation, from which if any part is severed, death 
ensues. No part of the physical life has existence if separated 
from the seat or dwelling place of the soul. What then is 
the Christian conception of soul? It is the self, the per- 
sonality, the inner man, the ego, which limits and conditions 
itself to growth, and expression through the experiences of 
human nature. If man is a soul, his great problem is not 
how to live the physical but the soul life. He cannot live it 
alone. He must live it with his fellow men and Christ. 

Therefore we are brought to consider the second proposi- 
tion, How is an individual, after finding Christ, going to 
adjust himself to live his spiritual life within the group life 
of church membership? The world is ready to condemn 
the individualist. It demands that he train himself to act 
and live with his fellow men. An unrelated man is either 
a vagabond or a rake. The very fact that a man has group 
relations, that he belongs to clubs, fraternities, associations, 
and a church, enhances his social value A recluse, living 



82 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



unto himself alone, is the suspicion of all who know him, 
for the modern world demands that he shall live his life 
associated with his fellow men. It is equally true with a 
man's spiritual life. He cannot afford to live alone. He must 
join the company on the way following Christ to the New 
Jerusalem. But in joining any group of believers he is beset by 
two perils — loss of personal identity and of individual initia- 
tive. How is this possible? In the first place, the church 
met him with a ritual, written for any and all men, by which 
he is received into membership. If he has any personal be- 
liefs, they are not to be considered. If he has any distinct ex- 
periences, they are treated as without value. The prayers 
offered for him have been repeated in behalf of thousands 
before him. He discovers he has been brought in on the 
common level of all God's children. Afterward, in the public 
worship, he joins in a form that frequently has no appeal 
to him. It expresses nothing of his feeling. His prayers 
are so impersonal that he finds no pleasure in them. As a 
child he must not lose himself in the family. What shall he 
do? He must grow in the stature and admonition of the 
Lord. He must maintain his own individuality. He must 
pray his own prayer. His devotions must be as distinct and 
considered as necessary as the food he eats and the water 
he drinks and the clothes he wears to support him as a man. 
He must love his Bible, consecrate time for meditation, and 
meet the Holy Spirit personally each day if he is to grow 
in grace and a knowledge of the truth as it is in Christ 
Jesus our Lord. If a believer depends entirely upon public 
worship, and the accepted ritualistic forms of devotion, to 
maintain his spiritual life, he may make a good religious 
ritualist, but never an enthusiastic, evangelical Christian. 

Furthermore, when a man joins a company of believers 
his individual initiative is imperiled. What could Bartimseus 
do as a witness for Christ after the crowd pressed about him 
and shut him in? Something marvelous had been done for 
him which, if told, would increase the company of believers. 
His gratitude rises within him like the surge of a tide. What 
can he do? The instinct to proclaim that which thrills the 
heart takes hold of him. He must witness unto others of 
the great things the Lord has done for him. What can he 
do? Here is the great crowd, the ever-present company of 
believers. Shall he lose his own identity, and witness as they 



FOR THE IMPORTUNATE SOUL 83 



direct? Shall he surrender his own initiative, and follow 
the way they have always gone? Verily this is the inevitable 
problem of every disciple. In its proper solution he finds 
his soul happiness, and opportunity to enter into an active 
Christian life, which at the end returns to him many fold 
the investment of his life for Jesus Christ. 

Bartimseus resisted the crowd and found the Christ. His 
experience revealed the great truth that a personal knowledge 
of Christ will heal the soul of its afflictions, and that he who 
joins the company of believers, without first meeting the 
One in whom they believe, will not share in the joy the Lord 
Christ came to bring. 

The voice of the crowd still calls, when we cry out under 
conviction for our sins, that we should hold our peace ; but 
the prayer of importunity brings an answer from Him who 
said, "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?" Finding 
him, the prayer, "Lord, that I might receive my sight," is 
answered, to our relief and endless delight. 

QUESTIONS FOR CLASS STUDY 

1. What do we mean by the afflicted type? 

2. How may a physical approach reach a man's soul? 

3. What is collective evangelism? 

4. What is a mass revival ? 

5. What are the perils to the individual in a mass revival? 

6. What is the conflict between social and individual in- 
terests? 

7. What threefold salvation did Bartimseus need? 

8. How did he resist the will of the crowd and find Christ? 

9. Did Jesus have a healing ministry? 

10. What is the Christian conception of the body? 

11. How far should a man's religious faith be expected to 
affect his health? 

12. In what sense is man a soul? 

13. To what extent should a Christian be an individualist? 

14. How may a man lose his soul in depending upon the 
public form of worship? 

15. Should a man join the Christ first and later the Church? 



The crisis of the conflict between the kingdoms of good 
and evil took place in the death of Christ : the highest mani- 
festation of good in him — the highest manifestation of evil 
in the pursuers of those who saw the divinest excellence 
and called it satanic evil. To call evil good and good evil — 
to call divine good satanic wickedness, there is no state lower 
than that. It is the rottenness of the core of the heart: it 
is the unpardonable because irrecoverable sin. So far as I 
belong to that kingdom or fight in that warfare, it may be 
truly said, the Saviour died for my sin. Every time I hate 
a good man for his meekness or his goodness — find bad 
motive to account for the excellence of those who differ from 
me — judge sins of weakness more severely than sins of 
wickedness — shut God out of the soul to substitute some lie 
of my own or of society — I am a sharer in the spirit to 
which he fell a victim. He bore my sins in his body on the 
tree. — Robertson. 



CHAPTER V 



For the Distressed Soul 

The Radical Type 
The Sympathetic Approach 
The Evangelism of the Cross 
The Repentant Malefactor 

Scripture: Luke 23. 39-45 

And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on 
him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 

But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not 
thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 

And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of 
our deeds : but this man hath done nothing amiss. 

And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou 
comest into thy kingdom. 

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day 
shalt thou be with me in paradise. 

And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness 
over all the earth until the ninth hour. 

And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was 
rent in the midst. 

Prayer 

We thank thee, O Lord, that thou hast called us to be* 
evangelists. Something within us finds the deepest pleasure 
when we become bearers of good news. We have learned by 
a study of the life of our Lord that he was always an evangel- 
ist. Even on his cross midst the throes of pain, in the 
silence of suffering, power was released from him that 
wrought the repentance of a hardened soul. Teach us, we 
pray thee, how to bear pain and defeat and humiliation, that 
our fortitude may appeal to men who know thee not. The 

87 



88 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



world is full of suffering. We at times are compelled to bear 
our share. In that hour, when we face our Calvary, give 
us the glory of the evangelism of the cross. 

We do not understand how it is possible for us to enter 
into fellowship with thy suffering, but we pray that thou 
wouldst enter into fellowship with our suffering. We want 
always to be found in thee not having our own righteous- 
ness, but possessing that which is by faith in Jesus Christ 
our Lord. We do not expect to rise into his life with all its 
boundless mysteries and release of power, but we do pray 
for him to come into our lives. We open our hearts to him 
with an invitation that he come in and take possession of 
them. Without him we fail to realize our higher spiritual 
capacities, but with him all our powers crave that life which 
is hid with him in God. We do not boast of our attainment, 
when we remember our failures and recount our shortcomings, 
but forgetting the things that are behind we press toward the 
mark of our high calling in Jesus Christ our Lord. If the 
path of our lives leads upward toward the altar of sacrifice, 
if we must learn life's greatest lesson on Calvary, if we 
must submit to the pain of the cross and the death of wound 
and spear, then help us in that dread hour to pray that all 
we bear may be made conformable unto death. In this hour 
of our cross make men to feel the influence of the presence 
of God, make them to feel the blight of their sins, make them 
to turn in repentance unto thee. 

We are thy children seeking thy favor, and earnestly pray- 
ing that Christ our Lord may give us his Holy Spirit, that 
we follow him in the light of a conscience void of offense 
toward God and man. Hear us, we pray, in his name. Amen. 

Introduction 

We have come to the cross of Christ. It is found on 
Golgotha — the place of a skull : significant statement that sup- 
ports the observation that he has ever, since that day, found 
his crucifixion there; while it may be asserted that at the 
place of the heart he has always found the day of his resur- 
rection. For Calvary presents apart from faith one of the 
most inscrutable incidents in all the spiritual history of man- 
kind. It has had a marked effect upon men. It presents the 
cross of Christ, which to one becomes the savor of life 



FOR THE DISTRESSED SOUL 



89 



unto life ; to another of death unto death. To those who 
perish, it is always foolishness, being without significance; 
to those that are saved it becomes the wisdom and power 
of God. Was it a tragedy without interpretation? Was it 
an episode occurring as the climacteric of an eventful life?. 
Was it simply an incident in the course of a good and 
benevolent man's life? If these questions have not arisen 
in the mind, then the discovery of the cross still remains. 
It may have been seen in the mind's eye, it may even have 
been talked about, but if it has not been discovered as a 
memorable spot on which the human mind becomes assured 
of the certainty of the most sublime and important religious 
truths, then the cross of Calvary appears as a stupendous 
mystery. 

Let us consider what are the plain and indisputable facts 
of the story. Jesus of Nazareth came teaching a gospel of 
human and divine love. He sought to persuade men to love 
God with all their hearts and their neighbors as themselves ; 
to manifest forgiveness, kindness, and always to be merci- 
ful. He lived a beautiful life, exercising filial trust and 
obedience toward God, walked among sinful men and women, 
living a stainless life. He went about doing good and heal- 
ing all manner of diseases. The world, with all its burdens 
of sin and sorrow, heartbreak and death, had need of him. 
It should have welcomed him with loud acclaim. But the 
facts prove that it could not make room for him. Strange 
situation ! It could not provide a place for the holy and 
loving Jesus of Nazareth. It even sought to rid itself of his 
influence by calling him a son of Beelzebub, repudiated his 
message as worse than a blasphemy, and condemned his 
ministry as a crime against society and religion. Parties 
and classes after long standing feuds came to a temporary 
truce and joined forces against him, that they might effectu- 
ally crush him. He was condemned to the cross for cruci- 
fixion under the extreme penalty of shame and agony, a fate 
that was reserved for the worst of malefactors. What did 
that tragedy of goodness mean? It placed the cross of 
Calvary on a promontory of time, within sight of all genera- 
tions of men, where it could become the revelation of the 
deceit and turpitude, the wickedness and stupidity, the 
abandon and depravity of the human heart. It also released 
in the world a new moral attraction — the magnetism of the 



go THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



cross. Multitudes of every generation since its establishment 
have thronged in imagination to it and looked upon that 
crucifixion to feel the thrill of it, to shed a tear of sympathy, 
to feel rebuke by his faith, to turn away and say, "That was 
not a tragedy, that was a sacrifice." Human sin wrought that 
crucifixion. Human perfidy erected that cross, and its con- 
templation shall never cease to bring a rebuke to man's soul 
and measure the capacity of goodness to suffer at the hand 
of iniquity. 

We Are Prone to See Only one cross on Calvary, but 
there were three. Each one has a moral significance. The 
first is the cross of retributive justice — that of the unrepent- 
ant thief; the second and central, the cross of redemptive 
justice — that of the suffering Saviour; the third, the cross of 
mediative justice — that of the repentant malefactor. Further- 
more, they illustrate the operations of the Holy Spirit, whose 
work is to convict of sin and of righteousness and judgment 
to come. Conviction working repentance rested upon one. 
Judgment producing hardness and indifference fell upon an- 
other. Righteousness rested upon him who could pray in 
the midst of his agony, "Father, forgive them, for they know 
not what they do." We do not stop to inquire, "What brought 
Jesus to his cross ?" The answer is not difficult : "The princi- 
ple of love arrayed against the force and might of man." 
But it thrusts upon us the mystery of sin, of pain and suf- 
fering innocence. It forces Calvary upon human thought as 
the culmination of the life of Jesus of Nazareth and the 
mystery about which reason has wrought, as with an age-long 
problem, and in which the affections of man have found their 
perennial renewal. It also determines our moral judgment 
By the cross we stand or fall. By our attitude toward the 
Christ of Calvary we take our place with the repentant 
or the scoffers. For the great sin a man commits is not what 
he may do so much as the attitude he may take in a moment 
of time toward the crucified Christ. With one malefactor 
all the evil of his life did not count in shutting him out of 
paradise. It was not what he had done, but what he would 
do before the suffering Christ. He did the right thing at 
that moment, and was saved. It is, therefore, doubly assured 
that in the end we are judged by our relation to the cross 
of Christ. It is the dominant principle of our moral world 



FOR THE DISTRESSED SOUL 



9i 



which we shall without doubt discover before this study is 
completed. 

The Radical Type 

In full sight of Calvary we come to study the evangelism 
of the cross. It is here we find the day of settlement for the 
radical soul. Some men are of that disposition which pushes 
them to the extreme. They cannot be conservative. They 
by nature take to the open field. They refuse to be controlled 
by any restrictions, or to acknowledge the authority of pre- 
cedent. They fly to the extreme and accept only one view 
point, disavowing any other. In their opposition they are 
turbulent and radical. They refuse to listen to reason, but 
obey the dictates of impulse and rashness. Such men gen- 
erally come to grief. They are seldom corrected, and are 
never recovered from their wrong attitude, save by a crisis 
that threatens crucifixion and death. It is always the radical 
type that finds the cross the redemption of the soul. Radical- 
ism will work the undoing of either a good man or a bad 
man, if permitted uninterruptedly to control the life. In the 
good man it works fanaticism. In the bad man it supports 
unreasonableness, closes the avenues of the mind to truth, 
and induces it to take pleasure in falsehood and vilification. 

There is only one avenue open to reach the radical type. 
Being unamenable to reason, he must go the full course of 
his wrongdoing before an opportunity for his recovery ap- 
pears. Even then it is only a mere chance. He finally comes 
to take his punishment. For the evil he has done comes back 
home to him, or the law he has violated after giving liberty 
through the years at last intercepts him. But punishment is 
not always corrective. That depends on the man himself, 
in what spirit he receives it, or what influences are brought 
to bear upon him to soften his heart. A man's heart under 
the process of suffering is as frequently hardened as softened, 
for it is within the power of a human soul to harden itself 
until it becomes shrunken into such a tough and irreducible 
mass that the very grace of God can do nothing with it. An 
interesting illustration of this is found in the Old Testament 
story of God's dealing with the Pharaoh of Egypt. His heart 
was hardened by the signs and wonders and plagues, while 
by the same means the heart of Israel was tendered to faith 



92 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



and obedient action. Did God harden the hearts of the 
Egyptians? The instrumentality of grace to one was con- 
demnation and ruin to the other. Why was this true? It 
was the fault of the Egyptian himself, just as it is the fault 
of any man who permits suffering and defeat, disappoint- 
ment and loss to make him bitter and resentful, while the 
same experience to another produces humility, sweetness, faith 
in Christ, and an increased effort at moral rectitude. For 
it is a law of God's universe that the means of hardening 
are ever means naturally intended to soften and win. There 
remains a mystery in dealing with the radical type, not easily 
solved, that only one out of two when even driven to the 
cross by retributive justice recovers himself to repentance 
and God, even under the appeal of the personal presence of 
our crucified Lord. 

The Sympathetic Approach 

The only means of dealing with the extreme radical type 
is that of the sympathetic approach. This one opens only 
as the cross of penalty brings the offender to face the record 
of his wrongdoing. Then reason has no voice, and argument 
is without avail. For you are dealing with a soul, not a sound 
and calculating mind. You must tactically deal with preju- 
dices and ill will and maneuver with soreness and narrow- 
ness and highly sensitized combativeness. Only experience 
wins at this point. The emotions are all active and easy of 
approach. If one has had a similar experience, can show his 
own wounds, can demonstrate his own recovery, can produce 
a bond of sympathy by a common experience, he can success- 
fully approach a soul when punishment is working the penalty 
of the law. 

The spiritual insight of our Lord at this point is almost 
intuitive. When he found a man suffering under the penalty 
of his own or some one else's sins, he never stopped to in- 
quire who was morally responsible. He restored him to 
health. He never condemned or upbraided men. He seemed 
to fail even to carefully diagnose the case of those ap- 
pealing to him for help. He asked nothing about the past, 
neither questioned them why they did not have enough judg- 
ment to keep out of sin. He healed them, demonstrating a 
sympathy for their need that had a profound sense of pity. 



FOR THE DISTRESSED SOUL 93 



To those suffering through the operation of the penalty of 
a violated law he is able to present his own wounds, suffered 
not through but by the direct malignant resentment of his 
fellow men. By this means he was able to say, "I have 
suffered also," and immediately found a way of approach over 
the common ground of sympathy. The radical type of 
offenders against God's law and that of society can be dealt 
with only by the sympathetic approach, because that is not 
the way of reproach, but of pity and tenderness and ministry. 
Indeed, in the character of Christ it is central. It is the one 
passion that makes the lowest indispensable to the highest, 
the lost sheep to the mighty compassion of the great shep- 
herd, and the penitent malefactor to the matchless power of 
Christ to open a way from the very gates of hell to the 
paradise of God. 

The Evangelism of the Cross 

The appeal to the imagination of men by the crucified 
Christ has always had direct approach to the emotions and 
moral will. Somehow men looking upon him in his suffer- 
ing find a tender compassion rising within them for expres- 
sion. In fact, it is the universal judgment, that anyone re- 
sisting that appeal is hardened and calloused beyond hope 
of recovery. At the heart then of the gospel message is the 
crucified Lord. This appeal of suffering love becomes the 
dynamic of the gospel appeal. When it fails on an individual, 
he is gospel hardened and beyond recovery. The cross, 
then, contains the ultimate strategy of the evangelism of 
Jesus. It is as many-sided as life itself, and no hard-and-fast 
doctrine can be drawn from the truth it contains ; but at the 
final analysis it expresses a fundamental law of God's uni- 
verse, namely, that sacrifice is the supreme condition of peace 
and increase of life, that self-surrender is the secret of self- 
realization. 

It is interesting to note that Jesus found the cross before 
he ascended Calvary. In reality, he made it the sign of disci- 
pleship when he declared, "If any man will come after me, 
let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." 
That was the evangelism of the cross, before the day of 
crucifixion. Cross-bearing is the test of discipleship, and 
crosses are borne, not to fulfill the duty of the task, but 



94 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



that some day a Calvary may be found where through cruci- 
fixion a man may be rid of his cross. What, then, shall we 
infer was his teaching on cross-bearing? Fundamentally, 
that it was the normal law of every life, regulated by a 
supreme devotion to the heavenly kingdom. Such cross- 
bearing has a double side, each of which is marked by three 
lines of activity. In the believer's life among men there are 
three ways over which he may go to his Calvary: First, 
always witnessing for truth against falsehood, with a spirit 
of courage and decision ; second, always loving and seeking 
to serve those whom society has cast out and done its best 
to ruin; third, always protesting by word and deed against 
lending sanction to any moral system that makes an artificial 
distinction between virtue and sin. Let a man persistently 
shoulder his cross and proceed over any one of those ways, 
as it was Christ's experience, he will inevitably find his 
Calvary. The other side of cross-bearing is that of the 
inner life. It also has three lines of travel. First, the line 
of cross-bearing that works the final crucifixion of self is 
that of always and persistently submitting to the intellectual 
authority of Christ. Second, the bringing into obedience to 
him all dispositional cravings and enjoyments, the denying 
ourselves that natural expression of temperament that would 
offend a delicate Christian conscience. Third, the mortifying of 
the lower passions and instincts that secure the dominance of 
the physical life over that of the higher interests of the 
soul. Let any man take up his cross along any of these lines 
and he will soon arrive at his Calvary. But it must be re- 
membered that Calvary is not something altogether un- 
desirable. It accomplishes the death of the old life, disposes 
of the burden of the cross, and hastens the day of the resur- 
rection into a new life, in which we can say with Saint Paul, 
"I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I live ; yet not I, 
but Christ liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the 
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, 
and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2. 20). 

The evangelism of the cross culminates in the presentation 
of the reconciling and redeeming work of Christ. In his 
suffering and death is his revelation of grace, of sin and of 
humanity. But central must be seen the expression of the 
holiness of God's love, for a realization of this deepens error 
into sin, sin into guilt, guilt into repentance, and repentance 



FOR THE DISTRESSED SOUL 95 



into forgiveness that is not an anodyne of self-flattery through 
the operation of autosuggestion, but a real and lasting peace 
of soul through the witness of the Holy Spirit to God's 
favor. 

The Repentant Malefactor 

Out of that Calvary group has gone an imperishable and 
irresistible influence. The contrast of character is unsur- 
passed. The association of dissimilar personalities and the 
profound contact they make upon each other affords an in- 
teresting psychological study. Jesus of Nazareth pays the 
price of preaching to men the gospel of faith, hope, love, 
honesty, sobriety, and for his faith in himself as a man called 
of God to fulfill the hopes, answer the anticipations of Israel, 
and make glad the hearts of the broken and downtrodden. 
The two malefactors come to the same end, and the same 
place, and the same suffering, and receive the same punish- 
ment for doing the opposite, for rebelling against God, disre- 
garding his law, turning against their fellows, and living a law- 
less and defiant life — a strange contrast of extreme opposites. 
What will Jesus do in the presence of these men? Will he 
seek to win them over to faith in him? Will he even reveal 
a consciousness of any interest in them, or will he display 
a weakening of faith in himself and the purpose of his life? 
Will he betray an inner collapse when he discovers that his 
fate is that of a common malefactor? Get the picture before 
the mind with all its many details. It is loaded with elements 
of psychological interest. The cross of Christ does not stand 
alone. Those hours on Calvary were the supreme test of his 
life. The world from that day to this has been asking, "What 
did he do then?" There he met the common fate of men 
whom he came to save. Indeed, he demonstrated that a 
man can live the righteous life so sincerely that it will rebuke 
the shallow, artificial life of the best among men, that they 
will condemn him to death on the level of the worst of cul- 
prits. 

What did Jesus do in the hour of the world's reaction 
against him? What did he do in his reduced estate with a 
condemned man on each side of him, and a scoffing and 
unsympathetic crowd about him? His cross can never be 
studied apart from that of the two malefactors. It is eternally 



9 6 



THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



associated with them. The supernatural elements of his 
personality stand out supremely. During those hours he 
appears as more than man. He was endued with power 
that no man has ever possessed. The very tragic ending of 
his life on earth secured the survival of his influence and 
the worship of his personality as the revelation of the Son 
of God. 

In the hour of physical breakdown the influence of spiritual 
power did not lose its control over him. He w T as still 
the Physician of men and the Comforter of their souls. He 
remained conscious to the very last of the presence of God 
and the fulfillment of his purpose in his life. Would his 
conduct influence those in fellowship with his suffering ? 
Would his fortitude and faith affect them? Yonder the 
crowd stands jeering, "He saved others; let him save him- 
self, if he be the Christ, the chosen of God." The soldiers 
near cast lots for his raiment, mocked him, offered him 
vinegar saying, "If thou be the king of the Jews, save thy- 
self." This was the final attack upon his faith, a direct assault 
on the very citadel of his soul. W r e see him receive it and 
hear him pray, "Father, forgive them, for they know not 
what they do." That was victory. That spirit could never 
be reduced even by the most horrid death. That was the 
triumphant moment. The two malefactors at first joined in 
the attack of raillery upon him. Finally the center of interest 
passes from the cross of Jesus to that of one of his associates. 
That prayer of forgiveness for the persecutors was more than 
he could stand. It broke up his resistance, dissipated his 
resentment, reconciled his spirit. He rebukes his companion 
in crime and appeals to Jesus as Lord, begging to be remem- 
bered when he comes into his kingdom. 

The Change of Attitude on the Part of the Penitent 

Thief was so radical that it presents a number of points for 
psychological study. 

First. His attitude toward the other malefactor. He had 
first a reaction in his own mind against the heckling of one 
who was suffering as they were. That incomparable spirit 
of forgiveness had turned his thoughts inward. He was made 
to think of God. That struck the depths of fear in his soul. 
He rebukes his companion saying, "Dost not thou fear God, 
seeing thou art in the same condemnation?" The soul's 



FOR THE DISTRESSED SOUL 07 



response to that elemental appeal — the thought of God — has 
its effect. In the tragedy of the soul there is nothing that 
produces calm and creates an attitude of awe more quickly 
than the introduction of the thought of God. Derision at 
least from the cross ceased. Futhermore, he manifested the 
change of spirit in his own heart by acknowledging his own 
wrongdoing: "We receive the due reward for our deeds." 
This reveals the progress he made from introspection to 
repentance, from repentance to confession, from confession 
to conversion. He acknowledges the justice of God in the 
punishment of their sins. However, he does not stop here; 
he goes further and confesses his faith in the integrity of 
Jesus who is suffering punishment on the other cross; say- 
ing, "He has done nothing amiss." That was a recognition 
of Jesus, of more than passing comment. It meant that one 
of the malefactors at least realized that he was not of their 
class, that while he was with them he was not of them. What 
would they have said if the high priest Caiaphas or Annas, 
or Herod, or Pontius Pilate had been crucified with them? 
The majesty of the personality of Jesus came into its fullest 
possession of evangelistic power on the cross. 

Second. The second point of psychological interest is that 
of his attitude toward Jesus. His prayer, "Lord, remember 
me when thou comest into thy kingdom," was recognition of 
the kingly claims of Jesus, which without doubt were strangely 
in eclipse at that moment. A crucified man on his way to a 
kingdom — how strange and contradictory! They w r ere both 
in the shadow of death, but one was coming to a crown. 
What inscrutable influence could produce that impression on 
the mind of a dying man? That kingdom could not have 
been on this earth. It implies faith in a future life, a survival 
of the catastrophe of death. He did not pray for deliverance 
from the cross, but for provision for himself after it had done 
its work. The expression of faith in this prayer is unusual. 
It witnesses to belief in the moral integrity of Jesus of 
Nazareth, to the truthfulness of his claims as the Messiah 
of Israel, to the survival of the soul after death, to the 
reality of the kingdom of heaven, and to the trustworthiness 
of his own repentance. The spirit of humility in the prayer 
is almost pathetic. If there is pity in the heart of God, that 
prayer would find its goal. "Lord, remember me." He does 
not pray, "Prefer me," "Honor me," "Give me a place on thy 



98 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



right hand when thou comest into thy kingdom," but "Re- 
member me." He had no claim, no cause to plead. If Jesus 
would remember him, that would be enough to permit him 
to suffer and die in peace. 

The attitude of Jesus toward the repentant sufferer pre- 
sents a number of problems that only faith can accept. 
First, he met his change of demeanor with a frankness that 
was the full expression of the spirit he had always manifested 
toward men in difficulty. The penitent commits himself to 
Jesus, who without reserve receives him. The man's past 
life, his record, his habits, his godlessness, do not seem to 
enter now into the case. At the very threshold of death, 
at the last moment, when there was no time for reparation, 
no time for building character; when he could not be saved 
for this world, when he could not be given another chance, 
when he could not possibly be saved by his record, he sur- 
renders himself to Jesus Christ and the mercy of God. 
He accepts by faith the promise made him at that moment, 
"To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise" : after the cross, 
paradise; after death, life and boundless joy. 

What did Jesus mean by "paradise"? An invisible world, 
a place destined and prepared for them. Not a state of un- 
conscious blessedness ; not an existence of nonpersonal sur- 
vival in Deity, but a life with him, not in him, nor of him. 
That means conscious joy, for to be with him is paradise. 
There — where — means location, means place, means distinc- 
tive individualistic existence, personal immortality. "To-day" 
— immediate upon death; "with me," the souls of those who 
trust in him, being delivered from the burden of the flesh, 
are in joy and felicity with Christ in his paradise of God. 
This is his answer to all questions about the life after death. 
We cannot know more. This given in the words of Christ 
if accepted by faith and cherished in love will quiet the heart 
and support the mind as it is thrust by time and human ex- 
perience against the impenetrable darkness of the unknown 
world beyond the gates of death. 

The crucifixion scene at a final analysis suggests three 
fundamental questions : 

First. How far may a man go in sin before moral recovery 
become impossible? When two men are placed in the same 
circumstances, one will repent and the other remain un- 
touched. Why is this true? It is the difference between the 



FOR THE DISTRESSED SOUL 



99 



men themselves. It may mean one of two things in the case 
of the unrepentant. The right approach may not have been 
used, or he may have hardened himself by continuous viola- 
tion of God's law and resistance to his conscience, that all 
the finer feelings within are dead. However, this must not be 
passed over lightly. Few men by a lifelong course of sinning 
so pervert their spiritual perceptions that they can look upon 
the cross of Christ with its appeal of suffering love without 
breaking before it. When sin no longer cuts a gash in the 
conscience, when there thrusts no hurt at the thought of 
wickedness, when the burden of iniquity rests upon the 
shoulders as a light weight, when the soul comes not to care 
and commits itself in abandon to wrongdoing, then it may be 
said that the zone of the irrecoverable lost has been reached. 
But it should be stated that no man can judge when his 
fellow man has passed over that divide. For it is verily true 
that no matter how far a man may go into sin, his heart is 
never as far away from God as his life. 

Christ taught that there is a sin for which there is no 
forgiveness. He designated it as the sin against the Holy 
Spirit. By that he meant a persistent refusal to accredit the 
voice of right and wrong that God has placed in man, which 
course attributes that which is of God to the devil. More 
remotely it stands for the violation of that inner protest, 
that moral revulsion against the thing that sickens all the 
sensibilities until a man can walk into the blackest sin with- 
out a tremor. It means that in the case of a soul sinning 
against its finer feelings slowly the spiritual sense begins to 
weaken until the inexorable law of atrophy demands the full 
payment of its violation, and the fine spiritual sensibilities 
through disuse or misuse begin to disappear. The keen sense 
of right and wrong is reduced. The inner light that throws 
its radiance over the life of the soul grows dim. The man 
at the last walks in inner darkness — like the impenitent thief, 
even on the cross of his own crucifixion, can look upon the 
suffering Christ and never feel a pang of conscience or a 
thrust of self-condemnation. 

There are scientific thinkers who readily dispose of this 
question by avowing that the persistent course of a godless life 
sends all men over the irrecoverable brink. They claim 
character becomes set and in maturity is unalterable. Habits 
of thought, tastes, passions, appetites, make the man. What 



ioo THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



he is then cannot be modified. If a man neglects Christ, it 
is claimed he not only misses salvation, but loses the capacity 
to enjoy it should he have the opportunity to receive it. This 
teaching locks plausible until the soul itself is taken into 
account. There is a point beyond which its integrity cannot 
be reduced. The more it is confined in darkness, the brighter 
it shines. It may be a small flame, but nothing we do or say 
can destroy it. If that were possible, the annihilation of the 
soul would be a reality, and it could be brought about by 
man himself. A soul may still exist and be beyond the 
redemptive grace of God, or else the future life contains no 
punitive justice for those who do not receive it here. 

Second. How can a man be saved at the last moment of 
his life when his record would end him in perdition? Is 
there salvation without the possibility of living the Christian 
life? To what extent is a death-bed repentance to be valued? 
When a man's life has been lived apart from God, when at 
times it has risen to open rebellion against the approaches of 
his spirit, there is small chance for an awakening in his last 
moments. Only a few men repent and turn to God at the 
gates of death. Some do as the penitent thief. How is it 
possible? No man can explain the psychology of it. The 
fact is that men do in their last moments awaken spiritually, 
cry unto God, and are saved. How can God do it and pre- 
serve the integrity of his moral universe? By the exercise 
of his infinite mercy, which may act when appealed to with 
as much power as the immutable laws he has placed in opera- 
tion in his universe. Then our conclusion on this point must 
be that, after all, by an appeal to mercy a man may be saved 
regardless of his moral record. 

Third. What, then, is the specific that works the salvation 
of the soul of man? What is the answer to this question? 
Repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Character and a record of personal righteousness are not 
the total factors at the last analysis in the salvation of the 
soul. The great and indispensable fundamental is faith. 
Faith, however, is potential character. Christ made it the 
only and sufficient condition of admission to the kingdom 
of God — faith alone with reference to repentance, with 
reference to sin, with reference to forgiveness, with reference 
to Christ as a personal Saviour. For faith has a strange 
fascination for the soul. In its exercise it exerts all its 



FOR THE DISTRESSED SOUL 101 



energies of apprehension on the one hand, and receptivity 
on the other. In its highest ranges it is purely a soul function 
that works when set upon Jesus Christ, the transformation of 
the soul, the modification of its powers, and the regeneration 
of its moral desires. Jesus Christ, then, must be appreciated 
as Saviour. Man cannot save himself. He has no power of 
self-regeneration, nor spiritual perception which of itself can 
find its way to God. Faith in him is the medium of salvation. 
The penitent malefactor, caught up at the last moment after 
a reckless and godless life, paid the earthly penalty of his 
wrongdoing, but by committal of himself to Christ entered 
with him into the paradise of God. 

Conclusion. Every man should some day find his Calvary. 
Before he can go free his evil self must be crucified. It was 
not intended by our Lord that those who love him should 
always find a cross in all obedience to him. He has intended 
that a Calvary should be found. He says, "Take up thy 
cross and follow me." Follow where? Men are of small 
service with crosses on their backs. Yes, it is forward with 
him to yonder promontory. If a man goes not, he remains 
in the common conscience, with the common virtues, with the 
common faith, or with the common doubt and mediocrity. 
There is no sainthood for him. If he goes out upon that 
height bearing his cross, he will be taken captive, the fright- 
ful moment of dying unto self will mark the culmination of 
his crucifixion unto this world. Henceforth he will become a 
man of the spirit, blessed of the Holy Spirit, a man of 
redeemed powers, a thinker dilated, enlarged, a seer dreaming 
dreams and holding high communion with his Lord. Hence- 
forth a certain portion of his life belongs to the spirit. An 
element of the boundless enters into his being, into his con- 
science, into his virtue, into his faith. He is a man having 
followed Christ to Calvary, and returns in newness of life 
as one having walked on the boundless heights with God. 

QUESTIONS FOR CLASS STUDY 

1. What is a radical type? 

2. What is a sympathetic approach? 

3. What is the evangelism of the cross? 

4. Was the death of Jesus a tragedy or a sacrifice? 



THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



5. What are the facts in the story of Jesus of Nazareth? 

6. Give a characterization of the three crosses on Calvary. 

7. Give a characterization of the penitent malefactor. 

8. How did Jesus compose himself upon the cross? 

9. What was it in Jesus that appealed to the penitent thief ? 

10. What was the attitude of Jesus toward those who 
suffered with him? 

11. What did Jesus mean by "paradise"? 

12. What three things does a final analysis of the cruci- 
fixion seem to suggest? 

13. How far can a man go in sin and be recovered? 

14. What was it that saved the penitent thief ? 

15. Why is it that the same experience will draw some 
men to God and drive others away from him? 



Paul, a saint for the church, a great man for humanity, 
represents that miracle — at once divine and human — conver- 
sion. It is he to whom the future has appeared. It leaves 
him haggard ; and nothing can be more superb than this face, 
forever wondering, of the man conquered by the light. Paul, 
born a Pharisee, had been a weaver of camels' hair for tents, 
and a servant of one of the judges of Jesus Christ, Gamaliel; 
then the scribes perceiving his fierce spirit, had educated him. 
He was a man of the past, he had guarded the clothes of the 
stone-throwers ; he aspired, having studied with the priests, 
to become an executioner; he was on the road for this. All 
at once a wave of light emanates from the darkness and 
throws him down from his horse; and henceforth there will 
be in the history of the human race that wonderful thing — 
the road to Damascus. That day of the metamorphosis of 
Saint Paul is a great day — keep the date; it corresponds to 
the twenty-fifth of January in our Gregorian Calendar. The 
road to Damascus is essential to the march of progress. To 
fall into the truth and rise a just man, a transfiguring fall, 
that too is sublime. It is the history of Saint Paul; from 
his day it will be the history of humanity— Victor Hugo. 



CHAPTER VI 



For the Violent Soul 

The Fanatical Type 

The Concealed Approach 

Elemental Evangelism 

The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus 

Scripture: Acts 26. 1-23 

Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak 
for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and an- 
swered for himself : 

I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because I shall answer 
for myself this day before thee touching all the things where- 
of I am accused of the Jews : 

Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs 
and questions which are among the Jews : wherefore I be- 
seech thee to hear me patiently. 

My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first 
among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews ; 

Which knew me from the beginning if they would testify, 
that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a 
Pharisee. 

And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the 
promise made of God unto our fathers : 

Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving 
God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, 
king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. 

Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that 
God should raise the dead? 

I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many 
things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 

Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the 
saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from 
the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave 
my voice against them. 

105 



io6 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled 
them to blaspheme ; and being exceedingly mad against them, 
I persecuted them even unto strange cities. 

Whereupon as I went to ^ Damascus with authority and 
commission from the chief priests, 

At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, 
above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and 
them which journeyed with me. 

And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice 
speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, 
Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick 
against the pricks. 

And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus 
whom thou persecutest. 

But rise, and stand upon thy feet : for I have appeared unto 
thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness 
both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things 
in the which I will appear unto thee; 

Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, 
unto whom now I send thee, 

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to 
light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may 
receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which 
are sanctified by faith that is in me. 

Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto 
the heavenly vision : 

But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, 
and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gen- 
tiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works 
meet for repentance. 

For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and 
went about to kill me. 

Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto 
this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none 
other things than those which the prophets and Moses did 
say should come : 

That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first 
that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto 
the people, and to the Gentiles. 

Prayer 

O Lord, we thank thee for thy Holy Spirit which has been 
with us since the day we gave our hearts to Christ. We 
have needed him, more than we shall know, until we go to 
be with thee. We do not always willingly turn our thoughts 



FOR THE VIOLENT SOUL 



107 



to thee. We do not even at all times love the things of light 
and truth. Something within us deadens our higher aspira- 
tions, and seeks to pull us down to the level of those who love 
not Christ and live a godless life. We do not understand 
why we must suffer these experiences. They are painful, 
and we hesitate to mention them unto thee. Thou dost know 
of them and wilt not only deal patiently with us, but enable 
by the Holy Spirit's assistance to understand how the reaction 
of our own spirits under the influence of thine will bring 
us again to power and light. 

We remember our moments of violence against thee. When 
we refused inwardly to do thy will. When something led us 
to say, We will not have thee to rule over us. Then the win- 
dows of our souls were closed, darkness settled about us 
and we wrestled with our evil selves even unto the break of 
day. Then with the victory came the assurance that thy 
Spirit had not departed from us, but rather had been present, 
furnishing motive and desire for the struggle that brought 
us back into self-control and favor with thee. 

We thank thee for the presence in our lives of the Holy 
Spirit. We thank thee that he comes to be with all those 
who give their hearts to Christ, to guide and empower, to 
control and comfort, to encourage and enlighten. We thank 
thee for the promise of that coveted experience in which 
he is promised not only to be with us, but in us. We 
have meditated on the words of our Lord when he said, 
"I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Com- 
forter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit 
of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth 
him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he 
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." We follow in faith 
and anticipation that we may come into possession of the 
deep things of the Spirit. Keep us faithful, and guide us 
into the ways of usefulness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen. 

Introduction 

The evangelism of Jesus for the violent soul presents one 
of the most profound studies for the modern psychologist. 
How can a mind generate within itself forces that capture 
it against its will? There are mental states of indecision 



io8 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



which produce a struggle between two opposing forces, either 
in opinion or moral impulse, but the soul maintains its throne 
of judgment, exercises its power of inhibition, maintaining 
a position of strange neutrality until the time for action 
arrives. When the struggle proceeds until an effort is made 
to thrust upon it something against which all its tastes and 
sentiments revolt, there appears violent opposition which con- 
tinues until the soul gains its former poise and self-control. 
The Christian thinker believes that a soul even in its violent 
opposition against Christ can be brought to faith in him. 
Indeed, he argues that God has provided a means by which 
the mind is not left to its own decision whether it will serve 
and acknowledge him. By the teaching of the Holy Scrip- 
ture and Christian experience, he contends, we have abundant 
reason for believing that objective independent influence is 
brought to bear upon a soul, even in fanatical opposition to 
the claims of Christ to bring it to surrender, This work of 
conviction and capture of a resisting soul is one of the duties 
of the Holy Spirit. The best illustration of this is the ap- 
prehension and conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the road to 
Damascus. 

The Fanatical Type 

It is then to the fanatical type that we come in this chap- 
ter. A man in his opposition to the truth of Christ may not 
be radical. He may be indifferent. He becomes an extreme 
type when that truth begins to form in his mind an impact 
against his resistance. If it fails to reach this point, it will 
not arouse his opposition. The very fact that he becomes 
active, that he resents the approach of the new truth in his 
life, proves it is working in and gaining on him. He is com- 
pelled to resist. The fanatical type is extreme and often un- 
reasonable in its opposition against the claims of Christ. He 
resists with all his soul, frequently under the motive of a 
conviction that he is right. Being pressed, he becomes threat- 
ening and finally violent. Through this experience often a 
man passes, being won by the Holy Spirit to acknowledge 
Christ. It is not a passing experience easily explained. All 
the facts cannot be accounted for within the sphere of a 
man's mental life. An outside influence must be taken into 
account. Saul's journey to Damascus as a fanatic seeking 



FOR THE VIOLENT SOUL 



109 



to defend and preserve the age-long truths he loved and 
revered, has become the path of growth for all great souls. 
The experience found there an illustration of how enlarge- 
ment of mind comes by the inbreaking, not the outbreaking, 
of light, and reveals that marvelous seizure of the soul by 
the truth of Christ that cannot be explained without taking 
supernatural influences into account. 

The Concealed Approach 

The man who becomes fanatical and violent in his opposi- 
tion to Christ cannot be reached save by a concealed approach. 
He hedges himself about by those who agree with him. His 
opposition becomes set. He commits himself to a certain 
line of convictions and champions a definite course of action. 
He places himself in a position where he cannot go back on 
his own expressed views without stultifying his intellect. He 
pursues his opposition until he must see it through or dis- 
credit himself. He displays the control of an obsession. He 
cannot be reasoned with, while appeals fail to reach him. 
He is set in his course of opposition to such an extent that 
those who disagree with him are met with violence. He 
breathes out cruelty and threatenings against them. For the 
opposition to reach and win him to its side requires expert 
wisdom and a concealed method of approach that the most 
crafty cannot even suspicion. It cannot be personal influ- 
ence, it cannot be argument, it cannot even be dissension ; 
it cannot be accomplished in a moment of time ; it is beyond 
the thought of instantaneousness as far as human knowledge 
can discern. It must be an approach concealed by the unseen 
working of the Holy Spirit, who, independent of human per- 
sonality and not subject in his operations to the limitations 
of time or space, works conviction in the minds that oppose 
Christ, and afterward brings them to surrender to his claims. 
It is a matter of faith, established by many experiences en- 
joyed by those who have had wide evangelistic opportunities, 
that men in whom the most violent opposition to the gospel 
message has developed, frequently become the most en- 
thusiastic converts. The mystery of their conversion 
parallels that of Saint Paul and witnesses to the unseen work 
of the Holy Spirit in reducing the opposition of the violent 
and bringing him in submission to do the will of Christ. 



no THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



Elemental Evangelism 

This brings us to the statement of the elemental fact of 
the evangelism of Jesus. This can be given only by a two- 
fold statement. It must be a distinct fact that distinguishes 
his work from all other religious leaders, and also from the 
growth of the natural spiritual instincts common to men. 
What is that elemental fact? It is the release in a man of 
a spiritual power that checks his moral course, releases the 
control of evil habits, and propensities that have imbedded 
themselves in his physical constitution, establishes a reaction 
against them that discredits their rule over his will, and 
sickens the soul with thoughts of them, working a radical 
moral change called spiritual regeneration. How does it 
operate? By producing repentance, that is regret, self-con- 
demnation, inward self-denunciation ; by producing a de- 
sire to' confess sins that burden the mind, by numerous 
symptoms of soul-sickness in which mental perplexity and 
depression weakens the established course of action, causing 
the spirit of hardness to give way to that of forgiveness, 
that of selfishness to love of others, working a universal 
transformation of the man. However, with this process, 
which is always wrought by faith in Jesus Christ, there ap- 
pears a sense of gratitude to and love for him that is strangely 
unique. It manifests itself as an intense personal apprehen- 
sion of Christ as Master, Redeemer, and Lord. In the sphere 
of the spiritual emotions the apprehension of Christ becomes 
so persistent and absorbing that the dominant element of the 
life becomes an impulse to work the actual identification of 
the will with that of Christ; and to gain a union with him 
that will be so real as to result in the reincarnation of his 
life in the believer's heart. No other religion is builded upon 
this spiritual relation of the disciple with its founder. 

Furthermore, the elemental fact that distinguishes Christ's 
evangelism from that of the apprehension of natural spiritual 
instincts in the course of their development, may be stated as 
mysterious, sometimes crucial and frequently crisal. It is 
mysterious in that it cannot be entirely accounted for by a 
survey of facts within the man himself. It is crucial because 
a moment appears when the great mysterious fact passes into 
a comprehensible reality It is crisal because the moment of 
transition may be marked by a crisis that not only changes 



FOR THE VIOLENT SOUL 



in 



the heart, but lifts the man out of the old life into the new. 
Moreover, it proves that Christianity is not a religion that 
comes up with a man, but one that comes down to fill the 
capacity furnished by nature for its reception. 

The elemental fact of the evangelism of Jesus is found with- 
in the realm of the spirit. It manifests itself as the work 
of the Holy Spirit in producing conviction for sin, and 2 
sense of alienation, which results in the soul throwing itself 
by faith upon Christ as a proffered Saviour, who with power 
bestows forgiveness and restores into actual favor with God. 

The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus 

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus is one of the most 
spectacular events in the spiritual history of man. The 
spiritual world as presented by the Holy Scriptures cannot 
be entered by any man of thoughtful mind without it being 
sighted as one of the most outstanding incidents of that 
realm. Indeed, it reveals a remarkable relation with another 
that has never ceased to be the supreme wonder of human 
thought. Many paths have been struck into this spiritual 
world over which the souls of men pass on the wings of 
thought, but there are two great highways that have never 
failed to attract attention, to produce speculation and to invite 
men to enter. One is the road to Calvary, the other the 
road to Damascus. On Calvary Jesus of Nazareth died, 
terminating his earthly career. On the way to Damascus 
Saul of Tarsus died, terminating his narrow Jewish life, 
and rising, became Saint Paul, the great apostle to the Gen- 
tiles. Many men have tried to explain this marvelous and 
miraculous conversion, because it is one of the most ir- 
reducible experiences in the spiritual life. Therefore we 
approach it with much prayer for guidance, that we may dis- 
cover its evangelistic content. 

In Capturing a Violent Soul all approaches — spiritual, 
moral, intellectual, and physical — will be used, with a con- 
cealed purpose to ambush and demand its immediate sur- 
render. We must expect to find this to be true in a study 
of Saul of Tarsus. He went forth breathing out threatenings 
and cruelty against the new faith. He was an individualist 
of the individuals. He made his work of persecution a per- 



THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



sonal matter. He did not use the word "we" representing 
his party, though he was a Pharisee and a member of the 
Sanhedrin. He used the first personal pronoun "I" more 
than any other writer in the New Testament. In his defense 
before King Agrippa he stands alone. He disclaims having 
acted in the name of any body of men ; no group, no organi- 
zation, no class of society had any influence over him. He 
was not under orders when he went forth to persecute the 
followers of Jesus of Nazareth, though under authority. 
The personal pronoun repeatedly parades in his sentences, 
"I think myself happy," and "I shall speak for myself," and 
"I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things 
contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth." His course 
was always that of one who assumed authority to lead. He 
did not act for others, even though he was supported in his 
purpose by the priests. When the Spirit of Christ approached 
him it was not necessary to disentangle him from his social 
or religious group. He stood out in front. If there was a 
group, he commanded it. If there was an organization, he 
was its spokesman. His opposition to Jesus of Nazareth was 
a personal matter. He showed a personal enmity by a long 
course of plotting and persecutions. He had voted death in 
the Sanhedrin (Acts 26. 9-11), superintended punishment 
in the synagogues, and forced Christians to abjure their faith. 
He persecuted them from city to city. He prosecuted his 
ill will with a feeling that he was giving obedience unto God 
and became a religious fanatic. 

As an individualist of individuals he required a conversion 
that would distinguish him as one of a particular class. Only 
a highly differentiated method of approach could reach him. 
He had entered upon a violent course. He could not be 
caught with his group of supporters. He would escape and 
form another band. He must be singled out of the group, 
made a center of approach for all the heavenly forces that 
play upon a human soul. Physical violence must be met by 
superior spiritual force. Saul of Tarsus could not be con- 
verted any other way. 

However, let it be remembered that Saul was an upright 
man in moral conduct. He was not a physical sinner. His 
personal life was not marred and scarred by vice and evil 
habits. He was a religious man living a pure personal life. 
His sins were all on the side of disposition. Beastly passions 



FOR THE VIOLENT SOUL 



113 



did not rage within him as far as we know, but resentment, 
bitterness, and malice came finally to possess him. He had a 
religion that without doubt was the highest expression of the 
spiritual life of his day. It expressed itself in first a passion 
for personal righteousness, second, a passion for observing 
the law, third, a passion for the truth of Israel. A passion 
for personal righteousness is a fundamental of Old Testa- 
ment religion. When the fires burn low it becomes the seat 
of hypocrisy, and the individual learns how to win the re- 
wards of religion while escaping its burdens. With Saul 
there was that primary conviction that the one prize that 
makes life worth living is the love and favor of God. This 
conviction grew into a passionate longing as he advanced 
in the years of his young manhood, and he no doubt asked 
his teachers how the prize was to be won. The unanimous 
answer was, By keeping the law. This passion was fed by 
the promise that the Messiah would come to a nation observ- 
ing the law; and it was claimed that if even one man kept it 
perfectly for a single day, the Lord's Anointed would appear. 
Saul was religious, devoted, and a man of moral passion. 
He threw the entire drive of his nature to the realization of 
a perfect day in his life. It became a consuming passion with 
him, and was unconsciously carried in that state of mind 
where intolerance led him to oppose all who had different 
ideas from those he cherished. 

However, it must not be forgotten that at the beginning 
of his course Saul was a man of exemplary character. His 
was a noble nature ; his was a tender heart. He was a stu- 
dent under Gamaliel, the advocate of humanity and tolerance, 
who had counseled the Sanhedrin to leave the Christians 
alone. He must have been greatly influenced by that large- 
hearted man. Surely, he was too young to have hardened 
his heart to the appeal of pity and to the disagreeableness 
of a ghastly work of persecution. Surely, that was not con- 
genial to the natural temper of his mind. His highly strung 
religious zeal was a fertile field for the spirit of intolerance 
to take up its dwelling. Something happened — the Word 
does not tell — that made out of him a violent persecutor. 
We may infer that it was something that violated his sense 
of right and regard for the law of God. Without doubt it 
was the claim that Jesus of Nazareth was the Anointed of 
God, the Messiah of Israel. To him that claim became a 



ii 4 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 

travesty on his religion and an outrage against the teaching 
of the prophets. It stirred him to the depths of his being. 
When he discovered that the new doctrine was gaining be- 
lievers in Jerusalem and other cities, all the fire of his spirit 
broke loose. He became a zealot who had resolved in the 
name of God to exterminate the heresy by persecuting even 
unto death those who were preaching it and those who had 
accepted it. He entered the path of a violent soul with a 
sincere purpose, thinking he was doing the will of God, who 
could not permit him to pursue that course without seeking 
at an early moment to bring him to disillusionment. 

Herein We Discover the Evangelism of the Holy Spirit 

as he concentrates spiritual force to apprehend a violent soul. 
However, the culmination is with a revelation of Jesus as 
the Christ and the acknowledgment of him as the Lord and 
Master of the souls of men. 

The avenues of approach seem to have been ignored, unless 
we look deeply into the working of the mind of Saul. The 
spiritual approach seems to have been open, for he was under 
a strong spiritual impulse. But the highway was obsessed 
with the set conviction that he was doing the will of God. 
The intellectual approach seems to have been open, for he 
was acting under a strong mental impulse. But the way was 
preempted by prejudice and registered resolves of highly 
colored intolerance. The moral approach seems to have been 
open, for he was acting under the firm conviction that he 
was right; but the way was occupied by impulses of malice 
and hatred. The physical approach seems to have been open, 
for he was acting under the animation of all his physical 
powers; but the way was marked by violence and the air 
filled with cruel threatenings. What method of approach 
could possibly be used in gaining this soul to consider fairly 
the truth of Jesus Christ? 

What, then, is the psychology of his apprehension? Is it 
one of surprise and sudden ambush? Let us follow his 
course. He is on his way to Damascus with authority from 
Jerusalem to arrest the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. A 
cavalcade of horsemen is accompanying him. The journey 
is almost completed. He has had ample time to think over 
the course he will pursue when arriving in the city. He may 
also have had many thoughts about those whom he had per- 



FOR THE VIOLENT SOUL 



ii5 



secuted. Suddenly at midday a great light burst upon him and 
he falls to the ground. A voice speaks to him saying, "Saul, 
Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick 
against the pricks." Saul, conscious of what he is doing, 
replies, "Who art thou?" The unseen one answered, "I am 
Jesus whom thou persecutest." Then Saul, overwhelmed, 
reduced, broken inwardly and humbled outwardly, answers 
in pathetic tones, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" 
That was the voice of one thoroughly convinced, and the 
expression of a soul transformed and being released from 
former driving impulses, asks for a new course, for a new 
regime, for new impulses, for a new life. Jesus whom he had 
persecuted has conquered and gives to his submissive captive 
a new commission, "Rise, and stand upon thy feet : for I 
have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a 
minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast 
seen, and of those things in the which I shall appear unto 
thee." Saul obeyed a further injunction to go to the city, 
to the home of one Ananias, who would restore his vision 
and instruct him in the way. He assured King Agrippa that 
he was not disobedient to that heavenly vision, and later 
went forth with zeal and wisdom to preach the unsearchable 
riches of the gospel of Christ, and to be known among 
believers as Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. 

To us he becomes the first great example of the working of 
spiritual forces in transforming a violently antagonistic soul 
into one of enthusiasm for Christ. He is the first demon- 
stration of the full expression of the power of the Holy 
Spirit to break down the active opposition of men's souls, 
producing an example of instantaneous conversion. He is 
also the great example of the evangelism of Jesus working 
independent of human instrumentality, conquering resistance, 
subduing violence, and capturing a sinister and brutal per- 
secutor. The only method that succeeds in a case of this 
kind is spiritual, which closes up over all ways of approach 
until the soul is ambushed, and then in a moment of time is 
unhorsed and subdued by the Divine Spirit. 

The evangelism of Jesus for the violent soul accomplishes 
its purpose by the rapidly closing in of spiritual forces, in 
which the final action is a precipitous capture. A little deeper 
delving into all the lines of truth that must be considered 
reveals three necessary inferences. 



n6 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



First. There must have been a previous course of opera- 
tion, though we are unable to see it, for an ambush does not 
come by accident. Plan and motive always require a thinker. 

Second. A persecutor is never an accident. He is a result. 
Saul somewhere along his course had lodged within him the 
truth of Christ, either in word or by the beautiful life of those 
whom he had persecuted. Surely, the death of Stephen had 
its influence upon him. It started the inner conflict in which 
he sought to resist any accrediting of the faith and witness 
of the followers of Jesus; and that truth pressed in upon him 
the struggle against its claims intensified, assumed an ir- 
rational fierceness, until it became outwardly violent against 
those who would support it. 

Third. Truth has of itself no power to capture a soul 
against its will. It was the impact of spirit upon spirit. It 
was the exercise of that higher method of communicating 
truth spoken of by our Lord when he said to Peter, "Blessed 
art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not re- 
vealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." 
That is, God has power of immediate communication with the 
intuitions of man by which he may impart knowledge and 
reveal his will. An impersonal force cannot influence, modify, 
or transform personality. Hence, the demand for a faith in 
the distinctive office and personality of the Holy Spirit. Jesus 
realized this, and frequently during the closing days of his 
earthly career instructed his disciples on the work of the 
Comforter. In characterizing his duties, he said, "He will 
reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judg- 
ment; of sin because they believe not on me; of right- 
eousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more ; 
of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." 
If a serious-minded man makes the inquiry, "Who managed 
the campaign of strategy that captured the soul of Saul of 
Tarsus and transformed him into an enthusiastic supporter 
and champion of the cause of Christ?" what other answer 
is there but this: "He was caught up by the Spirit of the 
Lord"? 

After a Careful Consideration of this highly dramatic 
incident, one inevitable question thrusts itself upon the mind — 
What influence would his conversion have upon his teaching? 
A violent and instantaneous conversion makes a great im- 



FOR THE VIOLENT SOUL 



117 



pression upon the mind. Would it not influence his doctrine 
of Christian salvation? He was converted as a man in 
mature years, salvation came to him by the way of seemingly 
irresistible grace, it produced a crisis in his life, and made a 
cataclysmic change in him. It is human nature to establish 
this as a fundamental, and call all to experience it. But 
Nathanael the mystic, and Nicodemus the devout, and the 
woman of Samaria, the sinful, and Bartimseus the blind, did 
not find Christ along the path of overpowering conviction, 
that wrought a moral upheaval, but by a direct, quiet opening 
of the mind to the apprehension of Jesus of Nazareth as the 
Son of the living God, and a strange and complete capture 
of the heart with abounding enthusiasm for him. 

In the light of these various experiences it appears that 
there are two classes of believers to-day who bear the name 
and responsibility of Christians. The first is composed of 
those who come quietly into the realization of the Christian 
faith. They may have been reared in the nurture and 
admonition of the Lord, being among those who have never 
gone out of the kingdom of God. When the days of 
adolescence arrived they made their choice to follow Christ 
and surrendered their lives to him. They may not know 
the time and the place where they were converted. They base 
their claim to salvation on the assurance that they love 
Christ, pray to him, and in his name approach the throne of 
heavenly grace, and have no future of joy and comfort 
apart from him. This is becoming a very distinct class to- 
day in the churches. It grows and widens its influence during 
a period when adult conversion is not emphasized. It is the 
Episcopal method of increasing the number of believers. 
While adult conversion may be believed in, it is not depended 
upon to assure the survival and perpetuity of the church. 
This Christian type believes in and enjoys a stately ritualistic 
service, encourages religious education, and trusts in con- 
firmation and Decision Day rather than conversion by a 
spiritual crisis as the initiation into the Christian life. With 
this class the mass and community revival is not in favor; 
salvation is not wrought so much by repentance and contrition 
as by spiritual taste, moral choice, family predilections and 
Christian training, based upon a knowledge of the unfolding 
life. The second class is composed mostly of those who come 
into a religious experience in mature years, who have had a 



n8 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



spiritual crisis and know the time and place where they were 
converted. They register a period in their lives when they 
were away from God. They witness to a sense of sin, and to 
an experience in which they felt they were lost and were 
greatly distressed. In that moment they threw themselves by 
faith on Christ as their personal Saviour, and in a moment of 
time found peace and great joy in the witness of faith that 
they were saved. Many of this class were converted in a mass 
revival, with all of its informality, its noise and appeal, its 
democracy and power. They feel that religion is a positive 
and active thing, with power to change a man's heart and 
liberate his spirit. They care little for ritual and stately 
forms. They want emotion. They enjoy noise and en- 
thusiasm. Sin is a real thing that ruins men. Christ is a 
Saviour, the very thought of whom fills their breasts with 
abounding joy. Salvation to them is not a matter of decision. 
It is a matter of necessity. It is not an act of intellectual 
perfection, but an act of soul by which all its powers react 
and revolt against the dominance of sin in the life. To this 
class the Christian life is a birth in a moment of time wrought 
not by generation but by regeneration. It believes in re- 
vivals and expects them. It believes in spiritual crises, 
prays for conviction, believes in the cataclysmic work of the 
Holy Spirit as the most trustworthy means of bringing the 
soul to God. These two classes are found in the modern 
evangelical denominations, and their predominance determines 
the type of Christianity possessed by each local church. Some- 
times these two classes in the same membership become a 
source of conflict, but when properly adjusted, and when they 
understand themselves, they form a balance that produces 
a well-poised and effective church. 

In valuing the evangelism of Jesus, the emphasis must not 
be laid on the method, but the goal. Christ, as a Saviour 
from sin, is its object. Much must be made of the power 
and office of the Holy Spirit. Christianity is a supernatural 
religion. It possesses that inscrutable power to impact truth 
upon the mind, increasing its pressure, until a brain storm 
is produced, and the entire being is transformed. The ap- 
prehending of a mature man, full of violence against Christ, 
and converting him into a docile, obedient man, asking for 
something to do for the cause he has hated, is a miracle 
wrought only by influences operative in the realm of faith. 



FOR THE VIOLENT SOUL 119 

The wrecking of a man's life in its maturity by breaking 
up lifelong habits of thought and morals, and the establish- 
ment of new endowments of motive power for the highest 
living, is wrought by supernatural influences. It is a witness 
to the most unique force of the Christian religion, which 
operates through the functioning of the third Person of the 
Trinity — the dynamic of God, the Holy Spirit. 

Conclusion. There is in the spiritual world a great out- 
standing highway to God that cannot be overlooked. It is 
the road to Damascus. It stands in contrast with that of the 
road to Calvary. It is the way of the man haggard in his 
opposition to Jesus of Nazareth. It betrays itself in violence, 
and ends in an ambush where dethroned and broken a man 
is thrown upon the ground and conquered by the light. It 
represents a man falling into the truth and rising in the light, 
a self-deceived man, battling against himself and falling into 
the darkness of wrongdoing, to rise a just man, transfigured 
by a fall. He made the road to Damascus an inbreaking of 
supernatural light, the place on which an unseen person mas- 
tered a violent soul by the seizure of powers that refused 
to register themselves for human inspection. Henceforth 
men will seek to travel that road in search of God. Men 
who yearn for a manifestation of divine justice to their 
eyes, fast closing by the cataracts of blind consent; men 
searching for convictions that transform the soul ; men fol- 
lowing the great adventure after the allurement of virtue ; 
men drawn forward by the quest of the unseen, will seek 
that way, thinking that it, and it alone, is the way of great 
minds, toward rest and self-realization. It is the route from 
the dead past to an ever-living present. It leads forward and 
upward, but always to the crash and the flash of lightning, 
when the violent soul sinks broken in its opposition to cry 
out "Who art thou, Lord?" and to pray in humble confession, 
"What wilt thou have me to do?" 

QUESTIONS FOR CLASS STUDY 

1. What is a fanatical type? 

2. What is meant by a concealed approach? 

3. What is elemental evangelism? 

4. What is the elemental fact of the evangelism of Jesus? 



120 THE EVANGELISM OF JESUS 



5. Give a characterization of the road to Calvary and the 
road to Damascus. 

6. What led Saul to become a violent opposer of Jesus 
of Nazareth? 

7. How is a soul ambushed for God? 

8. How can violent antagonism be turned into sympathy 
and favor? 

9. What influence did this violent conversion have on his 
conception of Jesus? 

10. Name and characterize the three types of Christian 
believers. 

11. In what sense is Christianity a supernatural religion? 

12. What explanation is there for an adult conversion other 
than that of divine power? 

13. What is the goal of the evangelism of Jesus? 

14. Should all men expect to have a spectacular conversion 
like that of Saul of Tarsus? 

15. What will make a man opposing Jesus a center of the 
evangelistic forces of the Holy Spirit? 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



The Day of the Cross. — W. M. Clow. 

The Cross in Christian Experience. — W. M. Clow. 

The Work of Christ. — P. T. Forsythe. 

The Mision and Ministration of the Holy Spirit. — A. C. 
Downer. 

The Indwelling Spirit. — W. T. Davison. 
The Christian Faith. — Theodore Herring (Two Volumes), 
Philosophy of Religion. — John Caird. 
The Biblical Doctrine of Man. — John Laidlaw. 
The Training of the Twelve. — A. B. Bruce. 
The Sociological Value of Christianity. — George Chatter- 
ton-Hill. 

The Fundamental Ideas of Christianity. — John Caird 

(Two Volumes). 
A System of Christian Doctrine. — H. C. Sheldon. 
Lectures on Ephesians. — R. W. Dale. 
An Outline of Christian Theology. — W. N. Clark. 
The Cruciality of the Cross. — P. T. Forsythe. 
Christianity and Sin. — Robert Mackintosh. 
The Christian Doctrine of Reconciliation. — James Denney. 



121 



1 



A 



k. 



1 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: July 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724) 779-21 1 1 



